Return of the Demons
by Zoram Selrof
Summary: Sequel to RMEXE5TL Alt Hist. Barely two months have elapsed since the end of the "Cybeast Incident" in Cyber City yet the loss of Iris and Colonel is still felt: as if waiting for this moment of low vigilance to come a cloaked woman, the "Witch - Queen of Angmar", surges out of nowhere and sparks all-out confrontation. All Navis must unite and fight back. Rated M for lemon.
1. Chapter 1: Heated up morning

**Return of the Demons**

**By Zoram Selrof**

**Chapter 1: Heated up morning**

23:39 PM (Japan Time), Saturday August the 7th, 2005…

"… GUO~H… THE MIGHTIEST OF THE CYBER WORLD'S BEASTS HAVE BEEN SLAIN… NO – ONE CAN OPPOSE ME ANYMORE… I HAVE GATHERED THE STRAY SOULS AND GIVEN THEM NEW BODIES… THEY SHALL OBEY WITHOUT QUESTIONING… NOW… YOU…"

"Command me, my lord."

"YOU SHALL… BE THE CARRIER OF MY WILL… YOU SHALL… SPREAD FEAR AND TERROR AMONGST THOSE PITIFUL HUMANS AND THEIR TOOLS WHICH NET NAVIS ARE…!"

"I understand, my lord. I shall not fail thee."

"USE WHATEVER MEANS YOU… DEEM NECESSARY… YOU DO NOT NEED TO INFORM ME… I SHALL FEEL IT THE MOMENT THEY PLUNGE INTO FEAR AND TERROR AND THUS RUN LIKE THE HERDS OF COWARDS THEY REALLY ARE…"

An unidentified figure cloaked in a purple cloth plus hood plus having a pendant with the drawing of a bluish flame with four spooks and a white core was kneeling while being atop an elevated platform set in front of a gigantic purple-colored swirl from which an inhuman and powerful voice was ringing out: the whole place was barely lit and it seemed to be somewhere in the vastnesses of the Cyber World.

"May I depart, my lord?" The figure asked.

"GO…! STIR UP FEAR AND TERROR… THEY SHALL FEED ME… AND I SHALL BE FULLY REVIVED… BRING DEATH AND DESPAIR TO THE HOLDERS OF WHITE SOULS… THE ONES WHO DARED TO DESTROY MY INCARNATION BY SETTING THEIR FEET HERE…!"

"Roger and acknowledged…"

07:55 AM (Japan Time), Sunday August the 8th, 2005…

BEEP – BEEP – BEEP!

"… Man. The alarm clock… Go fish…!"

"That isn't the alarm clock, Netto – kun. It's the surveillance alarm I set on our firewall."

"It it's another invasion of weakling Mettools then you should be alright alone…"

"No… This is different from Mettools… And they're emitting or producing heat, too…"

"Heat? No wonder. It's August! And now let me nap: it can't be 8 o'clock even, today's a Sunday and I'm in summer vacation after the crazy end to 6th year."

"Mwah, hah, hah, hah, hah! Heat, heat and HEAT!"

"Huh! I know that voice! They've intruded into our HP! Come on, Netto – kun! We gotta put a halt to them before they set the house on fire! Here, wake up!"

"Yikes! What the heck's going on?"

Hikari Netto had been tossing and mumbling while on his bed as Rock Man EXE had been typing into their PC: he turned around with a grave face as a loud alarm rang out and someone laughed to rush to Netto's bed and pinch his right cheek to wake him up.

"HEAT! HEAT! HEAT EM UP! I WANNA HEAT UP!"

"Hey! You're right! I know that voice too!" Netto gasped.

"Wash your face! Pick the PET and build up a water Folder! Pack in powerful Program Advances too! Move it!"

"A-alright!"

Somehow disoriented Netto quickly washed his face and picked the PET plus the Battle Chip box to shuffle through it.

"Huh… Tri Arrow 3, Bubble Star 3, Ice Seed… Aqua Needle 3, Blizzard Ball, Ice Dragon… Ojiouzan… Kawarimi, Colonel Army… Element Wrap… Bubble Wrap… Stealth Mine… Poison Anubis… Magnum, Air Wheel 3… Justice One… Elec Dragon… Killer Sensor 3… Summon Black 3… Sword, Wide Sword, Long Sword… Area Steal… Reflect Met 3… I've put more than one of some so I already make up 30… Let's go!" Netto listed.

"Good!"

Rock Man aimed his hands at the computer's Plug-In port and emitted an IR laser: he vanished and on his place a "Copy Roid" was left behind so Netto wasted no time in aiming his PET at the PC.

"Plug In! Rock Man EXE, Transmission!"

The holographic screen came out to show how Rock Man was already aiming his Rock Buster at Heat Man EXE.

"Heat Man! So! Hinoken's back at it?"

"Well! Yeah! Was bored, too! The great me can't sit idle for long! I wanna burn with passion! I wanna heat the air up!"

"Do that in December." Netto sarcastically muttered.

"Nah! It's too classical! Go for the unexpected! I wanna HEAT UP! Oh yeah! HEAT EM UP!" He laughed.

"Hinoken! Show your hide!" Netto challenged.

"Hikari Netto! This time I'll defeat ya for good and Wily – sama will praise me! No need for my own gang!" Hino Kenichi exclaimed.

"So you DID keep on being a bad guy! The Densan Battle Tournament incident, the clash with Burner Man, "teacher" in Cyber City… But now you've shown your true colors, eh?" He grumbled.

"Oh yeah! Heat Man! Let's go all out! Heat 'em up!"

"HEAT EM UP! Oh yeah! I wanna HEAT EM UP!"

"Coming, Netto – kun!"

"You're facing a stronger me now! Battle Operation, Set!"

"In!"

"HEAT EM UP!"

"Let's go! Area Steal! Sword, Wide, Sword, Long Sword! Program Advance! Dream Sword!" Netto exclaimed.

"What the! Program Advance already?" Hinoken gasped.

"Eat this! 500 HP of damage to you… Out of 1900 HP!"

"Hah! That was some good _heating up_! Now I'm gonna heat ya up! Grand Burner…!"

"Slow! Ice Seed! Triple Arrow 3!"

"Whagh!" Heat Man uttered as he got hit by three arrows on rush which inflicted double damage.

"300 HP deduced! 800 HP deduced in total! Let's go! Fast Gauge!"

"By all the…!"

"Your memory is somewhat lacking, Hinoken! I beat you back when our first clash, then I beat Heat Man in Densan Airport and Flame Man! Then Fire Man again and Heat Man again! And I've beaten all those freakish huge programs then I can win against you easily!" Netto grinned.

"Bloody hell!"

"Bubble Star 3! 200 HP of damage… Elec Dragon! 150 two times because you're trapped inside of the bubble… 500 HP deduced! Total: 1300 HP deduced!" Netto grinned.

"Damn!" Hinoken hissed.

"Ice Dragon! 240 HP of damage to you! Killer Sensor 3! Double damage because Heat Man's standing on the Ice Field! 320 HP of damage! Total: 560 HP! 1860 HP deduced! Only 40 HP left! The final blow!"

"Roger! Charge Shot!"

"Uwa~h! HEAT EM UP!"

Heat Man was forced to Plug-Out and Hinoken banged something out of pure frustration.

"Damn you!" He cursed.

"Hah!" Netto grinned.

"BURN!" He cursed.

"You burn." Netto shot back.

"That woman's gonna strangle me!" He cursed aloud.

"Your ex-girlfriend?" Netto taunted.

"How dare you!"

"Madoi's mama?" He taunted next.

"Heck no! Go to Hell!"

"If you'd show me the entrance…" Netto giggled.

"Hmpf." Rock Man formed a smug smile, for once.

"Damn you~! I'll remember this!"

"Going somewhere…?" A voice suddenly rang out from behind him with a dull tone.

"Who the hell!"

"That voice…!" Both Netto and Rock Man gasped.

THUD! PTAF!

"You idiot. Thought you'd get away with breaking into my former unit's Network to try to steal something to sell to the Reverse Internet black market deals? And Wily ain't going to recognize you: the WWW's ended for good. Like it nor not." The voice told Hinoken.

"Ugh! Grah… Who the hell are you lowlife?" Hinoken groaned on the other end of the line.

"No – one… Just Barrel…"

"Barrel – san! I knew it! He was alive!" Netto gasped.

"Barrel – san!"

"Hum… Hikari Netto, Rock Man… It's been a while." Barrel came into the screen while having his usual poker face.

"Why were you hiding? You brought Iris' "Copy Roid" to our school and then vanished! Wily wanted to see you!" Netto called out.

"I know. But I wanted to weep in silence and unseen. I went back to my former unit to have a look around and firm my leave from them. I'll be counselor to the Japan ONBA. Find me there. Later."

"W-wait, Barrel – san!"

"I'll bring this lowlife to the nearest police station: something tells me he didn't think of this on his own. See you."

The line went dead and both sighed in relief before assuming grave faces: Netto glanced at the "Copy Roid" standing to his right.

"Iris… Colonel…" He muttered.

"… It's hard to believe they're gone… They sacrificed for the greater good… We'll never forget it…" Rock Man grimly muttered.

"Yeah… But we must move on… Such was their will… And that's why they sacrificed themselves… For everyone's sakes…"

"I know… I'm going to fix the firewall and then you can go back to napping if you want. I'll then help cleanse the house."

"Alright…"

Netto headed over to the bed and sat on it but he seemed to lack the will to go sleep once again: he couldn't help but look at the "Copy Roid" the whole time.

"Iris, Colonel… You guys' sacrifice won't be in vain… We'll root out any other evil guys… And defeat them!" He muttered.

08:14 AM (Japan Time)…

"… I know - NOTHING! I wanna see a lawyer!"

"You'll have one. But I've recorded what you said in the phone booth. And given how I am former military I have credibility. Plus having been the "Leader" of the "Darkloid Oppression Unit Team of Colonel"…"

"What the hell! Then you're Barrel!"

"Yeah. Wily must've mentioned me."

"Sure did! Thought you'd died!"

"It'd seem something doesn't want me to die yet."

"Che."

Barrel was interrogating Hinoken in the police station as one policeman kept watch of him: Barrel looked dull and unimpressed while Hinoken had a scowl on his face.

"Mr. Barrel!"

"… Ijuuin Enzan…"

Ijuuin Enzan rushed in and stopped in the threshold to catch his breath: he looked like he'd changed in a rush from being asleep and come there as soon as possible.

"Mr. Barrel…"

"What. You want to pity me, too?"

"Eh… No, just… What happened? Today, I mean."

"This man is the source." Barrel signaled.

"This man…? Isn't that Hino Kenichi, former WWW?"

"Hinoken for ya, little punk!" He grumbled.

"Oh yeah? Didn't you know? I'm the "Ace" Net Battler of the ONBA, Ijuuin Enzan… I thought Sunayama would've told you about me."

"Oh hell! You're the kid he was targeting, the son of that IPC President guy!" He gasped.

"Yeah. So? What have you done this time? Set fire to garbage containers or what?" Enzan demanded.

"Hmpf!"

"He tried to set Hikari Netto's house in flames by sneaking there with his Net Navi but failed miserably. I intercepted him because I was hot on his trail. He'd tried to make some money by stealing military secrets and selling them to the highest bidder…" Barrel told him.

"What!"

"The lowlife!" Blues EXE growled.

"Hmpf!"

"And it'd seem some woman is involved."

"Woman? Iroaya Madoi, Anetta or Chirol?" Enzan tried to guess.

"Dunno! Miss Universe!" He shot back.

"Someone powerful, then. A money deal." Barrel deduced.

"What! How could ya…?" Hinoken gasped in surprise.

"I have instinct for these things… And we've already found a letter inside of your backpack… It's signed with a black rose drawing… And the name is "Witch - Queen of Angmar"… They offer you 50000 and pay you 25000 as preview…" Barrel held out a computer-written letter.

"Che! Snooping jerk!" Hinoken grumbled.

"Nothing will save you from jail by now: attempted homicide, attempted pyromania, illegal break-in… The list is large." Barrel dully told him.

"Angmar… Angmar… Where's that at?" Enzan wondered.

"I am researching, Enzan – sama."

"Good. Hmmm… Has an odd ring to it, really…"

"… Eh… It'd seem I've made a mistake. I'll check again."

"What did you find?" Enzan asked with obvious surprise.

"Witch - _King_ of Angmar…"

"And where's Angmar at?" He asked next.

"Eh… It's not a real location, sir… It's a fallen kingdom in the _Lord of the Rings_ world… And this "Witch - King" was one of the "Nine" commanded by Sauron of Mordor…" Blues admitted.

"Hmpf… A fake lead then… Should've seen it coming… And I'm sure this man doesn't know anything else about this "Witch - Queen" either so let's settle it here. I'm going to firm my entrance into the Japan ONBA as counselor… See you around, Ijuuin Enzan."

Barrel calmly stood up and paced out of the room while Enzan picked the letter and read it.

"Did this have an envelope?"

"No! It was folded directly in my mail-box."

"Hum… "Hino Kenichi. I will grant you an opportunity to prove your power… Here are 25000 Z… You will get another 25000 if you can defeat Rock Man EXE and set flame to his abode… You will have no other chances… Witch - Queen of Angmar…" … I see." He read.

"That's why I said I was sure that woman would cut my head off! Now go to Hell, all of you!" He growled.

"I dunno where the entrance is at." Enzan replied as he turned to leave and tossed the letter atop the table.

"T-this KID!" He grumbled.

He tried to stand up but the policeman quickly pushed him down by holding his shoulders.

"Quiet! You're under arrest!" He commanded.

"DAMN YOU! Barrel! Hikari Netto! Rock Man!" He yelled.

08:33 AM (Japan Time)…

"… Hmpf! I should've seen it coming… Whatever. You."

"Mistress. Command this vile servant."

"You go next. Your target is…"

"… Roger and acknowledged, my mistress."

"Go."

"Your will!"

The cloaked figure of some hours ago had been standing in a corner of that dimly-lit area and muttering before addressing a figure cloaked in blackness behind it: the figure spoke with a clearly womanly voice while sounding icy and commanding: the kneeling figure made a reverence and then vanished.

"Do you expect him to succeed, my mistress?" Someone asked off-screen with a hint of intrigue.

"We shall see. I do not think highly of any of you save for that one. All of you must prove your worth." She merely replied.

"I understand, my mistress…"

"Retreat."

"Roger and acknowledged… It is time for me to go seek nutrients to feed my power, though…"

"You have _carte blanche _but hide your trails, servant."

"Roger and acknowledged…"

The new figure retreated yet a brief green blur could be seen before it vanished out of view.

"You can't trust such a lame human to succeed. But these ones might have a chance. Humans! Learn the foolishness of your actions…!"

The figure laughed aloud with an icy tone of voice…


	2. Chapter 2: Curse of the bug

**Chapter 2: Curse of the bug**

10:14 AM (Japan Time), Sunday August the 8th…

"… Ah… I like it on Sundays! Ookuda isn't here, I can calmly enjoy my _cappuccino_ and I managed to reuse Gate Man… He's far smarter than Punk or Foot Man! And Kendo Man was somewhat impatient, too…"

"MEIJIN – SA~N!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Agh! Hot, hot! I spilled the _cappuccino_! What's going on, you guys?"

"HELP US!"

"W-what's going on?"

Meijin had been calmly sipping some _cappuccino_ when Ooyama Dekao, Sakurai Meiru and Ayanokouji Yaito rushed in at the same time, startling him and making him spill some of the _cappuccino_ atop his shirt: he spun his rotating chair to the left, baffled.

"Guts Man got bugged!"

"Roll got bugged!"

"Glyde got bugged!"

"W-whoa! Three Navis bugged at the same time?"

"No! First was Guts Man! There was a white flash and zap! He got bugged and his attack power has gone down by 95%!"

"Two minutes later the same happened to Roll! White flash and bug! Her total HP has gone down by 95%!"

"And three minutes later someone made it through my mansion's high-security Network bugging all Navis on its wake and bugged Glyde! His speed power has gone by 95%!"

"Why 95%? That's an odd number." Gate Man wondered.

"Why don't you lowlife taste it too… Curse of the bug! Mwah, hah, hah!"

10:23 AM (Japan Time)…

"… My processor speed went down by 95%!"

"My right arm's strength has gone by 95%!"

"My left leg's thickness has gone by 95%!"

"It's the curse of the 95%!"

"Search Man. How is it?"

"No good, Laika – sama. All of the inhabitants here seem to have suffered some type of concrete bugging."

Search Man EXE was making his way through the Akihara Area and spotted several Navis cursing and chatting with each other about the general misfortune which seemed to have spread amongst them out of nowhere.

"And I heard Rock Man – sama got attacked by a Navi who wanted to set his house on fire! To what has this city come to?"

"By all the…"

"Hmpf… I imagined it'd happen sooner or later…" Laika muttered.

"Excuse me. Where is Rock Man's house?" Search Man asked.

"There, go down that avenue and last one right… My right eye's vision has gone by 95%!" A green and yellow Navi indicated.

"Everyone seems to be speaking of 95%. Why?"

"… Why, ya ask? Weren't ya listening? Some white flash happened and zap! We all got some bugging or another! And everyone has lost 95% of something! See?" The Navi groaned.

"Hum. I see."

"My right eye! Who is gonna fix my right eye? Someone call a Navi oculist or something!" The Navi yelled.

"Go on, Search Man."

"Roger."

Search Man kept on walking down the avenue and soon reached the Hikari house firewall: Rock Man was busy repairing it and remaking the gateway.

"Rock Man. It's been a while."

"Huh? Search Man! I hadn't seen you since the "Liberation Missions" in the "Nebula Hole Area", back in March. Are you fine?"

"What happened? They say you were assaulted."

"A Navi named Heat Man… A former WWW guy…" He summed up.

"Former WWW, huh." Laika muttered.

"Ah! Laika – san. It's been a while, too, sir…"

"_Commander_ Laika." He corrected.

"S-sorry! Commander Laika, sir…"

"Whatever. I wasn't being serious. Is Hikari over there?"

"Yeah… Netto – kun!"

"Yo! Laika. We hadn't seen each other since the "Team of Colonel" assaulted Nebula HQ… We didn't have much time to talk back then given the circumstances…" Netto greeted with a smile.

"Speaking of the "Nebula Hole Area"… You told us you found THE Forte there… But did you ever get to figure out who or what "Chaos King" was in the end?" Laika asked.

"Oh yeah. That "Nebula Grey" freakish thing… It'd seem Regal had built a duplicate there… We had to beat it twice before we were able to close down that thing! And each time it grew stronger too!"

"I see. What became of "Demon Prince" and "Demon King"?"

"Shirakami and Copy Forte, you mean? Dunno. We haven't seen a hair outta them or outta that Kanou Shade man…" Rock Man replied.

"I see. Well. Has anything else besides this "95% curse" happened around here?" Laika asked.

"Well, Barrel – san showed up out of the blue and got that Navi's Operator… He's going to become a counselor of the Japan ONBA so he said to find him there…" Netto admitted.

"What! So he was alive…! I must see him. No other man has inspired me such respect before."

"Don't try to pity him or he'll most likely shut you off the room. Enzan – kun has just met him." Rock Man warned.

"Of course. I won't pity or praise him. I'll just commend him."

"Go ahead." Netto shrugged.

"Let's go, Search Man." Laika commanded.

"Roger."

"Kuwa~h!"

"Yea~rgh!"

"Nuwo~h!"

Cries of agony and pain suddenly rang out: both Search Man and Rock Man rushed into the main area to see that most Navis had horrible wounds on some parts of their bodies and had collapsed there yet there wasn't any visible culprit.

"… The attacked spots match each one's bugged spots… This can't be a coincidence." Search Man quickly analyzed.

"What!" Rock Man gasped.

"Gruagh… All lights went out…! Something thick long and sharp…! Felt like thorns and needles…!" One Navi groaned.

"Who the heck could've done this so quickly?" Netto cursed.

"Heh, heh, heh, heh…" A distorted chuckle rang out.

"Identify yourself." Search Man commanded as he turned into combat mode and aimed the "Scope Gun" around.

"Heh, heh, heh, heh…"

"Say something!" Rock Man challenged.

"The curse of the 95% followed by the curse of the slow and painful deletion of the bugged spot… Isn't this a bittersweet drama?" A distorted voice rang out.

"You call this a bittersweet drama?" Netto growled.

"Indeed! Yet that was mere playing around. I'd rather like to rob all of your strength little by little… And savor it!"

"This guy's a leech or what?"

"You're not gonna tell me it's Shade Man again!"

"No, not Shade Man… Your worst nightmare!"

"How original." Rock Man drily replied.

"Hmpf… Play the smug guy while you can! I'll bring a slow and agonic end to you, such agony that you will beg of me to end it quickly by severing the head off your body!" The voice laughed.

"We're so scared, truly." He kept on being unimpressed.

"If you can do so much then prove it." Search Man challenged as he looked around the area.

"I cannot yet! But it won't be long. In the meanwhile why don't you pay a visit to the Science Labs? Maybe you'll be able to see our newest spectacle of slow and continuous agony and take part on it!" The voice challenged with obvious amusement.

"What! The Science Labs…! Papa's there…! Rock Man! Plug Out! We go to the Science Labs! Let's bring Iris' "Copy Roid" along!" Netto cursed.

"Wait, Hikari! It's a trap! Don't do anything reckless! We must study the situation and…! Damn! He's gone! Let's hurry!" Laika warned.

11:04 AM (Japan Time)…

"… Too quiet… Too quiet…! There's a reception clerk even in Sundays! And Papa didn't reply to the auto-phone either…!"

"Huh? I hear something from inside of the Control System Room… Let's go!"

Netto and Rock Man made it to the Science Labs' lobby where a lingering silence hovered around the atmosphere: they'd begun to climb the stairs when Rock Man heard something coming from the Control System's Room next to them.

"Take point, Rock Man!"

"Roger!"

They ran inside and gasped: they could see a mesh of electrical wires which had leapt out of several places and formed intricate patterns blocking the path and filling most of the room: they then spotted Meijin, Meiru, Dekao and Yaito being trapped by wires coiled around them and looking both unconscious and wounded given some cuts and scratches on their clothes.

"Meiru! Dekao! Yaito! Meijin!" Netto gasped.

"How horrible! Who could've done this and how?" Rock Man cursed as he looked around.

"That'd be me. The curse of the 95%! But no curse for you lowlife: just slow, increasing and never-ending pain! Hah!" A voice suddenly boomed out of nowhere.

Some of the wires suddenly sprung to life and coiled around both Netto and Rock Man spreading their arms and legs wide while also circling their necks and lifting them into the air.

"Eat this! Elec Pain!"

"Kuwa~rgh!"

"Gra~rgh!"

Electricity travelled across the wires and electrocuted them yet it didn't halt and seemed to be increasing in power.

"Pain! Agony! Suffering! Struggle! Those make me rejoice! I'm paying back the humiliation of back then! Mwah, hah, hah!"

"That… voice…!" Rock Man hissed.

"Electrical attacks…!" Netto seemed to guessing who the culprit was.

"Yeah… The great me… Flash Man!"

Flash Man EXE came into view while dropping from an alcove in the ceiling and laughing as he leant both arms into the sides of his body.

"You've had enough fun, Flash Man. Now I come in. I want to taste their despair!" A new voice joined him.

"Che. Hmpf… Whatever." Flash Man grumbled.

"Oh shit." Rock Man cursed.

"I see that you remember me!"

"Not that guy too!"

Plant Man EXE came into view next while smirking and looking up to something evil.

"Plant Man has returned! And now I shall slowly extract your energy and join it into me!" He laughed.

"H-how could…? Grah! Those two! Those two did it! They said it! They were gonna make an "Evil Kingdom"! The letter they sent to Hinoken was a fake to throw us off!" Netto cursed.

"Oh yes. If you mean Prince – sama and King – sama then this is their strategy indeed. They've been busy while you guys played around with the Cybeasts and the WWW." Plant Man confirmed.

"Damn! I should've listened to Laika!"

"Search Grenades!"

Some green grenades with a red LED atop them but lacking the mechanism real grenades had showed up on both Net Navis' feet and exploded thus momentarily distracting them: the electrical current was switched off and some laser shots rang out thus cutting off the wires and Rock Man wasted no time.

"Charge Shot!"

He shot one attack straight at Flash Man's head and cracked his helmet: he clutched it and groaned while Plant Man was bombarded by a miniature artificial satellite which formed behind him: Search Man became visible standing in front of the door leading to the Command Room.

"Rock Man! These wires are data. Burn them up!"

"Roger! Battle Chip, Flame Sword! Slot In!"

"Eat this!"

Rock Man hit the wires and deleted them thus freeing the four trapped persons who hit the floor: he then hit Plant Man with the sword and he was set on fire.

"Damn! Geyser! Grah! I'll remember this!"

"My "Copy Roid" processor is malfunctioning…! Grah! I'll remember this too!"

Both Navis escaped the area while Netto checked on Meijin and the others: Laika came in while looking annoyed.

"Hikari. Look what your recklessness has done. You almost got yourself killed here." He scolded.

"Damn! This isn't a time for this!" He growled back.

"Yeah. Commander. This ain't a good moment for that. It's not like we're to blame that they got hurt too!"

"You're not. At least Hikari – hakase was safe because he actually was doing a system inspection in the _SS Queen Checko_."

"Laika… I appreciate your skills but you can't expect them to act cool when someone they know is in danger." Barrel suddenly came in.

"Mr. Barrel!" Laika gasped.

"It's been a while, I know."

"… About Colonel…" Search Man muttered.

"… He had no remorse. He did what he had to do. He did the same thing to protect Meddy from Cloud Man and I thought he'd been deleted back then too…" Barrel told them.

"So the bugging was Flash Man's work…! And the one who drew us here was Plant Man…! But we've confirmed what those two have been up to during this time…!" Rock Man hissed.

"So this is the start… of their "Evil Kingdom"! And they are in the "Nebula Hole Area"! They said they'd root there!" Netto exclaimed.

"Hum. What do you think, Mr. Barrel?"

"We've seen what they were capable of when cooperating with Regal during the Internet takeover… And this matches with the reports of activities around the dreaded "Black Earth" entrance which requires the "5 Great Obscure Chips" to open… You have them, right? Hikari Netto and Rock Man…" Barrel calmly replied before asking them.

"Yeah. We do."

"Rest. Tomorrow we'll scout that dreaded place out. If we can. I wouldn't be surprised if they've found a way to seal it up." Barrel commanded without losing his cool.

"… Roger. They'll pay for this." Netto hissed.

"Yeah…! I'm burning already…" Rock Man icily muttered.

"… This is but the prologue." Barrel warned.

"The prologue, huh…" Laika was unimpressed.

"What lowlifes." Search Man cursed.

11:37 AM (Japan Time)…

"… Hmmm… You didn't do half-bad yet you neglected the opponent. I'll let it slip. But you'll have no other chances if you fail again. Stay there and I'll bring up someone else."

"Roger, oh Witch - Queen of Angmar."

Plant Man and Flash Man kneeled before the throne of the enigmatic "Witch-Queen of Angmar" and bowed while the woman sounded slightly satisfied with the outcome: they became data and came out of the room while a huge figure accompanied by another of rather normal size and height came in.

"You two. Defend the "Black Earth" entrance. Don't touch anything which may be there though. And by that I mean the mirrors."

"Roger."

"Roger…!"

"I'll repeat it: don't – touch – the – mirrors. Just stay by the entrance and delete any curious ones." She ordered again.

"Roger!"

Both Navis departed then he woman sneered while she icily giggled aloud together with tapping the edges of the armrests.

"Those humans have learnt how foolish and weak they really are. Good, good! Let them taste despair and defeat! Let them taste powerlessness and feed on the rage and hatred! You fools have not doubted to name the culprits but I am making use of their names! And even if they came out they have zero credibility! Hah! That's a well-thought strategy. Well then, I'm going to have some entertainment of my own."

She stood up thus revealing her height to be about a meter and sixty yet no traits could be distinguished given her robe.

"Foolish humans… Take in my Lord's punishment!"

She laughed aloud yet again…


	3. Chapter 3: Into accursed lands

**Chapter 3: Into accursed lands**

13:04 PM (Japan Time), Sunday August the 8th…

"… Here it is, Enzan – sama, sir! The "Black Earth" entrance… We've gathered the "5 Great Obscure Chips" so…"

"We should be able to come inside, yeah."

Blues was standing in front of the mass of matter which signaled the entrance of the dreaded "Black Earth" and looked ready for anything given his neutral face: Enzan also looked calm.

"We dared to tackle the "Nebula Hole Area"… We can tackle this."

"Roger, sir."

"Hoh, hoh, hoh… I don't think so!"

"We won't let you inside. We'll crush you!"

"Who…?"

Bomber Man and Stone Man suddenly surrounded Blues while the entrance got blocked off by a red energy field: Blues cursed under his breath as he looked around.

"Damn. WWW Navis!" He cursed.

"Hah! So you lowlife have heard of the great me!" Bomber Man boasted while laughing.

"King – sama ordered us to defend this entrance. We'll crush you and pulverize you!" Stone Man roared.

"Oi, oi! There were some diehard guys down 'ere and no – one thought of calling the great me? I wanna fire my guns! My heart's on fire! Hooray!" A familiar voice laughed.

"That voice…!"

"Vulcan Arm! Napalm Bomb! Mwah, hah, hah! I'm gonna blow some badass jerk today! Today's a good day, yessir!"

"Ugo~h! What battling strength!"

"Ya jerks are facing THE Napalm Man – sama!"

"Napalm Man! You traitor!"

"Hah! Traitor and whatever! I was bored!"

Napalm Man made it to the scene and took on Stone Man while Bomber Man cursed him yet he didn't seem to care.

"Good timing, Napalm Man! That big one's yours. I'll show this lowlife how sharp my Long Sword is." Blues smiled.

"Oh yeah! Leave it to me! Vulcan Arm!"

"Guo~h! Stay still so I can crush you lowlife~!" Stone Man cursed.

"I won't! Eat this, this and this!"

"Blues! Program Advance! Blues SP, Navi Scout, Colonel!"

"Twin Leaders!"

A copy of Colonel was summoned into the Field and both he and Blues attacked in a simultaneous manner: Bomber Man howled and suffered some important damage but he survived, nevertheless.

"… Grawgh…! 600 HP subtracted…! Damn! But the great me still has 400 HP left! Eat these~!" He roared.

"Program Advance! Sword, Wide Sword, Long Sword! Slot In! Dream Sword! Be gone!" Enzan exclaimed.

"GUO~H! FORGIVE, OU – SAMA~!" He exclaimed as Blues split him in half with the Dream Sword.

"MUGO~H! DAMN YOU! NAPALM MAN! GRAWGH!" Stone Man cursed next.

"Hah! That was a diehard guy like I prefer 'em! Oi, Blues! There are more of them right ahead, right?" He laughed.

"Sure thing. A lot of them."

"Mwah, hah, hah! That's some good news! Here I go~!"

Napalm Man tried to step into the entrance but was repelled by the barrier and he hit the floor in front of Blues: he growled and ran over to it while aiming his guns at it.

"Napalm Bomb!"

The bomb was repelled too and a twitch formed over his right eye: Blues suddenly placed his right hand atop his left shoulder from behind to call for his attention.

"That's a "Dark Power" barrier."

"Oh not those again!" He cursed.

"We'll need to contact Meddy and have her open this. Let's pull back but be relieved… They'll have to place replacements here. Maybe you can tackle them." Bleus told him.

"I like that better! See ya! I'm gonna go ready some big banging Cyber Fireworks! Hah, hah, hah!"

"Let's go back too, Blues."

"Roger, Enzan – sama."

Both Navis exited and didn't spot a normal Navi colored black and golden looking at them from a higher level.

"So! That's how it is, eh? I've seen through that mask already. I should've imagined it. That person would like to have some other type of insurance which could inherit their will… Heh, heh, heh. And regarding those two gentlemen, I do believe they _are_ up to something yet their interests are radically different… Heh, heh, heh." A man muttered with some amusement to his voice through the Navi.

"Hah! Shake the battle!" A normal Navi laughed.

"My. Truly."

"Enter the center!"

13:38 PM (Japan Time)…

"… GUO~H… SO THOSE TWO FAILED… IT MATTERS NOT! THOSE WERE WEAK AND FOOLISH! ROOT OUT THE WEAKLINGS… KEEP THE STRONG ONES!"

"By thou command, my lord."

The "Witch - Queen of Angmar" was kneeling in the platform facing the gigantic swirl of purplish energy: fog was crawling out of it and seemed to help conceal her presence.

"MIND NOT THOSE LESSER ONES! YOUR MAIN PREOCCUPATION SHOULD BE THE WHITE SOULS! THOSE REPULSIVE WHITE SOULS WHICH… THOUGHT THEY HAD DESTROYED ME… BUT AS LONG AS THERE IS "DARK POWER" I SHALL REVIVE… COUNTLESS TIMES!" The voice proclaimed with what seemed to be a victorious chuckle.

"Roger and acknowledged."

"YOU CAN GO BACK AND SEAL… THE ENTRANCE… NONE OF THOSE CAN EVER COME CLOSE TO THIS PLACE… AND KEEP ON BLAMING THOSE TWO LESSER "DEMONS"…!"

"Your will."

The voice made some sounds and seemed to fade away while the robed woman stood up and walked down a ramp into a road floating over a patch of a large square having six bluish flames with white cores burning in six set spaces.

"Hmmm… Maybe those could be useful. But let's think about it before using them… They are more powerful than the others yet I do not desire to waste them in vain… Hmpf… The white souls… I shall spread further chaos! Let them taste further rage and anger! Their hatred shall become nourishment for our Lord!" The woman muttered.

She stepped outside of the area and then spread the arms wide as if announcing a challenge.

"You shall be deleted!"

13:47 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Dark Miyabi."

"Barrel."

"How did you know I'd come back?"

"No – one told me. I had a hunch that a man like you would eventually drift back here… If you need me then tell me… I have no request to take care of…"

"Good… Could you check the Reverse Internet? I want to find out if the door to the "Nebula Hole Area" can still be opened."

"Fine enough…"

Dark Miyabi had suddenly visited Barrel: he seemed slightly surprised at the sudden visit yet he didn't express it out: Dark Miyabi kept on looking as dull and cold as ever.

"Shadow Man. Get on the move."

"Yes, My Master." He confirmed.

"I'll bring you news soon enough. Yet it's the work of those two?"

"I don't doubt it. All points at them. That letter was a fake lead to throw us off. It was clever but not enough." Barrel pointed out.

"Hmpf… Desperate tricks won't fool an assassination specialist like me even if I've just come from seclusion in the mountains… Dark Kirisaki paid me a visit to tell me how he had met Hikari Netto in Cyber City… Maybe I'll test his strength soon enough… Yet being able to make it this far is no small feat either…" He explained.

"Do as you like. I won't stop you." Barrel invited.

"Hmpf… Alright… How is it, Shadow Man?"

"My Master. The golden Program is gone."

"Maybe we're forgetting something?"

"There were some "5 Guys" to be beaten… And you needed to have the power to "defeat a great evil"…" Barrel recalled.

"Hum. Then maybe we can't get inside after all and we need to bring Hikari over yet…"

"No. He's gone through something rather ugly a few hours ago. He is starting to get angered. I ordered him to cool down."

"Ah. Well… Maybe Ijuuin… He was there, too."

"I was expecting him to report on an attempt to access the dreaded "Black Earth"…" Barrel admitted.

"And here I am. No good. They've sealed it up. We need Meddy's power to unlock it. Napalm Man dropped by and helped me defeat Stone Man and Bomber Man." Enzan reported as he came inside.

"I see. Well then, I'll contact her. Go try to open the door to the "Nebula Hole Area"… You did challenge those "5 Guys", right?"

"Yeah. I did and won. I should be able to get there."

"Counting on you…"

"Plug In! Blues, Transmission!"

Blues entered the Science Labs HP and quickly spotted something out of place: sand was filling the area.

"Oh shit." He cursed.

"Guo~h! BLUES…! I have returned to exact my revenge~!"

"Desert Man!"

"What!" Enzan, Barrel and Dark Miyabi exclaimed.

Indeed: Desert Man made homage to his name and emerged from within the sands while letting out a hollow chuckle.

"Be deleted! Great Lion Head!"

"Neo Variable Sword, Slot In!"

"Eat this!"

"Hah! It won't go like last time…"

Desert Man suddenly turned into raw sand Blues' attack failed: he gasped and looked around as his chuckle seemed to come out of everywhere at the same time.

"Battle Chip, Toppu! Slot In!"

"Wha~t?"

"Hmpf."

The "Toppu" began to spin upon its axis and vent all sand off eventually revealing Desert Man's form: Blues landed a hit on him and he had to back up while growling and cursing under his breath: Blues smirked.

"Dam you~!" He cursed.

"Hmpf. No little tricks will work on me either." Blues announced.

"You'll regret it! Sand Cube! Ant Holes!" Desert Man roared.

"Area Steal! Air Shot! Counter Hit! Sword, Wide Sword, Long Sword! Slot In! Program Advance! Dream Sword!" Enzan grinned.

"Eat this, Desert Man!" Blues roared.

"Impossible! Great Lion Head!"

Blues sliced the "Great Lion Head" in twice and opened a wound spanning almost half of his total height: Desert Man howled and escaped the area in a rush while Blues lowered his sword.

"The enemy has escaped, Enzan – sama."

"I see. Being mere sand it didn't trigger the alarms… This guy must be saved up for camouflage infiltrations." Barrel realized.

"We've wasted enough time here, Blues! Head for the Reverse Internet 2 ASAP!" Enzan commanded.

"Roger, sir!"

Blues came out into the Science Labs' Area and headed to End Area which he crossed until he reached the entrance into the Reverse Internet where he found none other than Drill Man.

"You lowlife! Drill Man!"

"Yeah! The great me! I'm gonna have revenge on cousin Bubble Man whom you deleted!" He exclaimed.

"Hah. That weakling wasn't worth my time." Blues shot back.

"I'll smash you here and now!"

"Not if I have something to say about it. Shadow Clone! Hah!"

"Uwack!"

"Good. Shadow Man. This one is up to you: I'm going to head for the next area and try to find out if the door can be opened. And I guess they sent this guy to stall while they try to find out a way to stop me from opening the door." Blues smiled.

"Fine…"

Shadow Man and two of his "Shadow Clones" had thrown _shuriken_ at Drill Man from behind and hit him: Blues rushed on ahead while the three Shadow Men slashed both enemies and generated fire blasts which hit him from three spots at the same time.

"You lowlifes are easy to catch unaware. How pathetic." He told Drill Man without sounding surprised.

"Shaddup! If I defeat you lowlife Prince – sama will reward me and ascend me to admin!" He growled.

"Ah. So you lowlifes all go with that vain illusion… Hmpf… Illusions are but a tool to keep the ignorant into check…"

"The campaign has begun. Let us infiltrate the enemy's camp and learn what their move will be." Dark Miyabi made up a _sengoku_ speech.

"Indeed."

14:09 PM (Japan Time)…

"… No need for your speech: I know what's on ahead. Will you open the door?"

"You seem prepared… Fine… Hmmm! Hah! The road is open… Go on ahead!"

"Good."

Blues had finally reached the spot and talked to the golden Program – kun to open the door: he got inside and gasped upon seeing how the area was filled with "Dark Panels" and Shade Man was back in charge of it.

"What? Someone activated the "Liberation Mission" replay?"

"Ki, ki, ki, ki! This is no replay! It's the real thing, Blues!" Shade Man laughed in his creepy tone of voice.

"Fuck. Now we have to go through this crap again?" Blues cursed.

"Ki, ki, ki, ki! Feeling the despair already? Then you won't make it past me and even less alone! Ki, ki, ki~!" He laughed.

"Are you seeing this, Enzan – sama, sir?"

"I am. Guess we'll need Rock Man to step in as replacement for Colonel and I'll edit your skill to be "Wide Sword" instead of "Long Sword" thus imitating Colonel's "Screen Divide"…" Enzan settled.

"What should I do, sir?"

"There's no other way around: tactical withdrawal! We gotta bring some of the members in… We should try to use the same combination as in the replay!" Enzan grumbled.

"Che! I'll come put you down sooner or later, you lowlife!"

"Come anytime! Ki, ki, ki!" Shadow Man taunted.

Blues came out and made a gesture to the golden Program – kun: he closed the doorway and Blues headed up the ramp while feeling defeated and that his race had been in vain.

"That lowlife fled… What happened there?" Shadow Man asked he caught up with him.

"They've taken over those areas again! We gotta redo the "Liberation" or we won't get anywhere at all!" Blues growled.

"What! Ah! The inferior ones!" Shadow Man cursed.

"… I'm sending an urgent mail to the old members… We need to gather them if we want to make it inside of the enemy's stronghold… Yet I'd like to have some support Navis because I'm convinced that these other Net Navis will be waiting in the areas past the "Liberation Areas"… Nebula Hole Areas 2 and 4 must be filled with them and I guess Area 6 is cut off to them." Barrel muttered as he typed into the computer.

"Hmmm… Maybe some "Red Sun Tournament" contestants would do given their high level… And some Cyber City Net Navis too… Miyabi. Can't you call over that disciple of yours?" Enzan asked.

"Dark Kirisaki? Good idea. His Navi Killer Man is very efficient. He can handle those pieces of rubbish." Dark Miyabi rubbed his chin.

"Excellent. I'll go investigate if we can gather any other Net Navis. And I'm willing to be backup Operator too." Enzan announced.

"Settled, then. I'll report this to Hikari Yuuichirou – hakase…"

"This makes me remember something… Where's Regal?"

"Regal? Last time I saw him he was engrossed in a new type of firewall system which Hikari – hakase had begun work into but had not found the time to keep it up… Wily is still being processed." Enzan replied.

"I see. Well then. I'll go find my disciple. When do we meet?"

"Tomorrow at 10 o'clock… This same place."

"Good. I'll go prepare for the campaign."

"We can't allow a new war to begin. We gotta put the fire out… Now."

_Demons! You've returned but I'll make you regret it! Ijuuin Enzan's word!_


	4. Chapter 4: Secret Empire

**Chapter 4: "Secret Empire"**

17:44 PM (Japan Time), Sunday August the 8th…

"… My Rare Chips shine like vine, de masu~…"

"Yamitarou. That song is getting old."

"My Rare Chips sell like bell, de masu~…"

"Do excuse me. Higure Yamitarou – dono?"

"That'd be me, de masu!"

"Might I have a few words with you? Call me Kanou Shade."

"Do ask of me, Mr. Customer! De masu!"

"Might I ask of you if this is what I think it is?"

"Wah! De masu! How terrific, de masu! A "Dark Chip", de masu!"

"I thought as much."

"It couldn't be! De masu! Netto – kun told me: the factory producing these was blown up when Mt. Fuji erupted in March! De masu!"

"Indeed. Yet some stocks seem to be left."

"How scary, de masu!"

Higure Yamitarou had been cleansing the front of his Higureya Battle Chip Store when a man approached him.

The man appealed as being around his 20s: his hair was colored in a chestnut brown color: he struck off as being slightly over a meter and eighty tall.

He was wearing a gray raincoat over a black suit plus black tie and brown shoes plus a hat and a pair of sunglasses.

"I know. I wanted confirmation. I am interested in their eradication like most people, of course…" He calmly told Higure.

"That's good, de masu!"

"Hi! Higure – san!"

"Oh, oh! Netto – kun! You came to try your luck at the Chip Trader, de masu?"

Netto walked over to him while sporting his usual orange sleeveless vest over a white shirt, his gray shorts with yellow stripes and his orange sneakers plus the bandana.

"Ah. Hikari Netto… We finally meet face-to-face, do we?"

"Excuse me, mister?"

"Kanou Shade."

"O~h! So you mister are Kanou – san?" Netto whistled in surprise.

"I have one piece of information for you. Have a look."

"What! Dark Chip "Dark Meteors"!" He recognized it.

"A foreigner in the harbor sold it for 5000 Z. He claimed he had "another six or seven ready to boom"…" He informed.

"Damn! Some stocks must've been left behind!"

"I am afraid so, Mr. Hikari… But I have contacts and I still have some reputation left to me. I can move in and out of certain circles without too much trouble. Someone has to be gathering profits from this and this someone must be one survivor of Nebula. Yet… I do not think those two conspirers staged this. No… I do not see them as the types to be led by greediness… Or maybe they don't mind the money and want to cause as much trouble as possible… I've heard of today's developments already…"

"Hum. By the way… Can you think of any place those two might be at? Any leads?" Netto asked.

"Well. To be honest: I did lend them an unused locale. I don't know what use they had in mind for it. I dropped by yesterday and it was empty."

"Ah. If it still was empty yesterday then it ain't worth dropping by. How did you get into contact with them?" Netto asked next.

"Remember when you discovered their identities in the deepest spot of the "Nebula Hole Area"? Well… Right afterwards they dropped in and we had a chat. I didn't see much harm in lending them that old warehouse anyway and I must admit I wanted to have some earnings. They do pay the monthly rent but they've barely used any electricity or water so maybe they're still deciding what to do with it."

"I get the point. Could they be behind these incidents? I've cooled down a bit and now that I think about it… I feel like they wanted to tell us so badly that those two are the culprits like they wanted to input that idea into our minds…" Netto muttered.

"I cannot be sure. Yet I wouldn't be surprised given their words. But I do think I've realized where they got all that data."

"Where?"

"Why. Didn't you go there in June? A place where all dead Navis go to rest to… And, also… Where a vampire from another world slipped into… Where the "Solar Boy" defeated the invader…"

"T-the "Graveyard" and the "Immortal Area"…! That "Immortal Area" was next to the "Underground"…!"

"Indeed. I did some scouting already. Most of the tombs are empty by now… Yet… Something lurks there. Something with intent and consciousness… On its wake Navis awaken from their slumber and are dragged away somehow…" Kanou Shade explained.

"Some kind of special effect or program…? Hmmm… Guess we'll need to check it out ourselves!" Netto decided.

"By the way, Mr. Rock Man did not come along?"

"Huh? Rock Man? No. He's still cooling down and helping at home. He's gotten obsessed with keeping each square millimeter of it clean. Sometimes he exaggerates… Heh, heh, heh."

"Oh yeah? And who is the one who sneaks off from his household duties every twice or thrice, Netto - kun?"

"Yikes!"

Rock Man had suddenly walked into the square and was folding his arms while looking slightly annoyed: Netto gasped and felt a shiver go down his spine while Kanou Shade merely smiled.

"Mr. Rock Man. We meet for the first time too."

"Huh? Wait! Sir! Are you…?" Rock Man seemed to recognize him too given his sudden change in speaking manner.

"Kanou Shade, indeed. But let us go inside of Mr. Higure's reserved room, shall we?"

"Oh, de masu! But of course, de masu! Come into my secret base, de masu! It was useful, de masu! It feels lonely now, de masu! I'd like someone to use it again, de masu!"

"Well then… Could I rent it?" Kanou Shade asked.

"If you wish so then… No problem, de masu! This manly Higure Yamitarou will keep it secret even from Mariko – sensei, de masu!"

"Huh? Higure – san is friendly with Mariko – sensei even after that incident when you collaborated with the WWW?" Netto looked somewhat suspicious.

"A fair lady does not hold grudges, de masu!" He grinned.

"You sound like you've made that up on the spot, Yamitarou." Number Man complained.

"Oh! Number Man! De masu! Sales Man is there, de masu!"

"What! Sales Man! Oh crap! Huh? W-wait a min! Yamitarou! You tricked me! That wasn't fair!" Number Man complained.

"Here, de masu~! You can have a nice secret chat, de masu~! Now if you excuse me I'll go back to business! De masu~!"

The three of them were left alone inside of the room: Netto paced around it and looked at it.

"Enzan found this place to be their new command room after Nebula assaulted the Science Labs…" Netto muttered.

"Higure – san sure has many surprises to him." Rock Man muttered with some curiosity.

"Indeed, Mr. Saito."

"Thanks and… Hey! How did you know my name?" Rock Man, or, rather, Saito, gasped.

"It's no big secret. My former Master told me."

"Your former Master? Just who are you, mister?" Netto asked.

"A former elite agent of the "Secret Empire"… Which ruled the whole of Japan's underground through ugly means and just for the greediness which comes with such lust…" He muttered.

"We'd never heard of that." Netto frowned.

"Well. It's named _Secret_ to begin with! And remember that until we stumbled upon it we hadn't heard of the _Secret Area_ either." Saito pointed out.

"Well… You've got a point." Netto realized.

"It isn't a place you'd normally hear of. No, no… That place was vile and reeked of malice. It can't be called a "place" per se but rather a set of "places" hidden behind covers, layers and deceit… Most of it has broken up thanks to my efforts and another person's ones and the remains are destroying each other… The police are picking them up."

"So… Who was that "Master"?"

"IQ."

"IQ? Intelligence Quotient?" Saito asked.

"What the heck is that?"

"It's a way of measuring one's mental capabilities and intelligence. I think that 180 is one of the highest marks and the top is close to 200."

"True. The name was meant to be confusing yet IQ had another meaning which no-one spotted because they became fixated that the name was to indicate that the person behind everything was terrifically intelligent. Yet I am privy to knowing that person and the real meaning of that name which was like the foreboding of doom to anyone who heard it…"

"So?" Saito asked.

"_Ice Queen… Koori no joou – sama_…"

"What! The one behind all that was a woman?" Netto gasped.

"A ruthless one, I must say. She recruited me through deceit when I was advertising myself to try to get a work in the field which was my specialty, economy. I was hoping to get the post of a finances clerk. And so I was led to believe but then I was lured into a net which closed around me and I'd been caught. My skills were tested and they passed somehow. So I was the tax inspector for her. I went and had interviews with several men and women across that "empire" to check on the finances. If they went off the budget by even 5 Z they would repent it dearly: their business would be exposed." He narrated with a sigh.

"Whoa. And that's why you have such influences? Because you were the envoy of the Queen?" Saito deduced.

"Indeed. Yet no – one save about 8 persons knew of her true gender: she had a competent man with no passion who was always ready to do anything and not think it twice… He was named "Secretary" and thus everyone thought "IQ" was a man on his 50s or 60s who wanted to get a lot of money… Yet that woman was barely on her 30s."

"I see. So, to sum it up… You disliked the whole business and began to plot how to have the big villain be arrested?"

"Correct. And I succeeded. In May. Around the time of the Element Man incident…" He explained.

"And by explaining this to us you're making clear why you want to help us… But that doesn't explain HOW that woman knew about me. It's picking me."

"No wonder."

"Heck, if even Netto – kun didn't know until that with Magic Man happened how could anyone else which wasn't Papa or Mama know?"

"Do not underestimate her. She has known ever since you became the Net Navi you are today. She used the same trick as me: a vulgar Navi which slips into a crowd and then places listening devices which would transmit info to her and exclusively her… Her initial intention was to try to figure out if you had any research she could use but she had little interest in Net Navis… But when she heard of his desperate gamble she got picked. She's been monitoring your growth and bidding her time… Another reason I wanted to overthrow her was to avoid a terrible _scenario_…"

"Terrible _scenario_? What… She'd blackmail Papa?"

"Not exactly. She'd rather wait until a moment like this, in which Mr. Saito can come out into the real world… And then organize an abduction incident… What would happen next is too horrible to put into words. Really. You'd better off not knowing. Just consider yourselves fortunate that we cast her down from her blood-stained throne in time."

"Yikes."

"The real world can be cruel. You've travelled a bit. You experienced a harsh reality in Ameroupe when you assisted to the ONBA meeting and all the trouble which happened before that… Ahem, ahem! Well! You should be on your toes. Those two were interested in the business. I wouldn't be surprised if they want to get ideas there. I'll keep some vigilance on that locale yet I believe they'll find another without too much trouble. Be careful, gentlemen." He warned them as he cleared his throat.

"We will. Thanks for warning us, Kanou – san…"

"We'll go scout the Graveyard and the Immortal Area."

"I don't think there'll be a need for that…"

"Why?"

"See."

As a response he showed them the feed transmitted over a Link PET colored black and golden which showed Slash Man and Killer Man walking around the area.

"Hah! These Viruses are diehard guys! I like that!"

"Se~i~! Rolling Slasher!"

"Hum! Trespassers! Violation of martial law! Judgment!"

"Oh heck. I know that voice!" Saito growled.

"The old-fashioned mottoes guy…" Netto grumbled.

"Huh? Isn't that Judge Man of the WWW?" Slash Man wondered.

"Weird. I thought that Rock Man guy had beaten 'im twice…"

"Hah! Nothing shall stop me from judging all trespassers!"

"Hah! What can a crappy guy like you against the two of us?"

"Ho, ho, ho… Just happens that he ain't alone…"

"Fu-ru-ru-ru~!"

"De a~ru…"

"PIIKA… RAKAA…"

"Oh hell."

Both cursed upon realizing they were surrounded by Judge Man, Blast Man, Circus Man, Dive Man and Element Man.

"DELETE~!" Four of them exclaimed.

"RIKAA~!" Element Man yelled.

"Oi, Slash Man! Let's get out! Too much for me!"

"Che! We'll remember this!"

"Run, you foul beggars!"

"Plug-Out!"

"See, gentlemen?" Kanou Shade asked.

"Heck. They've thought ahead of time. "Black Earth" sealed up by "Dark Power" and five of these in the Graveyard… But the core of the matter is in the "Nebula Hole Area" and now that we have stronger Folders we can beat those "Liberation Missions" once again! If we could clear them in a row the first time we can do it again." Netto muttered.

"Yeah. They won't be able to halt us!"

"That's the spirit, gentlemen."

"Netto – kun. The auto-phone!"

"Hello? Hello?"

"Barrel… We found Jasmine… She'll be here tomorrow… Rokushakudama and Napalm Man confirmed… Miyabi and Shadow Man too… Laika and Search Man… Ijuuin Enzan and Blues confirmed… You two will have to take mine and Colonel's spot. You did do that when you "Liberated" the Nebula Hole Area 3… Ah. Princess Pride and Knight Man are going to get here tomorrow too…" Barrel told them.

"We'll lead them to victory. You can count on us, Barrel – san!"

"Yes, sir! Count on us, sir!"

"Hmmm? So… Kanou Shade. I hadn't seen you ever since about two weeks ago… When you told me Hino Kenichi was the hacker… You know something useful?" Barrel spotted.

"The Graveyard and Immortal Area are controlled by the WWW Net Navis you were commanding a little while ago…"

"Hmpf… I see. The five-party-deal…" Barrel muttered with a slight hint of sarcasm.

"Since everything seems to be settled I'll get on the move. Make sure to place some kind of alarm around your house too. I wouldn't be surprised if those two went for some _clichéd_ trick. Take heed."

"Thank you very much!"

"Hmpf… See you." Barrel muttered.

"I might be able to report something useful in less than 48 hours. Do expect me to approach you directly. I am the type who doesn't trust electronic communications… And besides, this place is clean… No need to broom it." He announced.

"Broom it?" Netto frowned.

"Ah. No need to disable any listening devices." Saito guessed.

"Correct. Good-bye."

Kanou Shade came out and headed for the counter where Higure was looking at some book listing.

"800?" He asked.

"Hmmm… De masu… Let's settle in on 600, de masu. I'm not desperate of money, de masu. I have too much, even, but I don't pretend to live in a luxurious manner, de masu." Higure settled.

"Yamitarou! I got an email from a customer saying "Let devil bite me if you're not trying to sell us a counterfeit"…"

"What! Ah, de masu! The competency, de masu! They're trying to discredit us, de masu! This is the stage where I draw my broom and face them like a man, de masu!"

"D-draw the broom?" Even Kanou Shade was surprised.

"I hate sharp things, de masu! Thus the broom makes up for my _katana_, de masu! Bring it on, competency, de masu! My broom will knock you out and you can dream of exotic parrots, de masu!"

"D-dream of exotic parrots… That sounds… hum… strange."

"Obviously, sir! Yamitarou makes things up out of the blue!"

"Number Man! Don't discredit me! De masu!"

Kanou Shade merely beat his eyebrows and looked amused at seeing Higure's and Number Man's quarrels…


	5. Chapter 5: Strike from the blackness

**Chapter 5: Strike from the blackness**

10:11 AM (Japan Time), Monday August the 9th…

"… Good. You've all gathered. I didn't tell you what was going on over the phone but I'll tell you now…"

Princess Pride, Dark Miyabi, Rokushakudama Nenji, Laika and Jasmine plus Enzan and Netto had gathered in the Science Labs' Command Room to be briefed by Barrel who'd resumed his older style.

"The two Independent Model Net Navis, Copy Forte and Shirakami, have made their words of a few months ago be true. They have begun a campaign based on bringing up Net Navis involved in past criminal incidents and staging chaos. Their home base seems to be the "Nebula Hole Area" which some of you should remember about: those three final "Liberation Missions"… Yet they've spawned the "Darkloids" once again and we will need to gather the team again yet this time I think that we should name it "Team of Blues" given how Colonel is gone." Barrel exposed but sighed when he reached the last part.

"No! Don't change the name! Even if Colonel isn't present we keep on being the "Team of Colonel"! We didn't do that when Colonel was thought dead or in the Nebula Hole Area 3 "Liberation" where Colonel was absent given how he had something to research." Enzan argued.

"Hmpf… Alright then… We'll keep on being the "Darkloid Suppression Unit Team of Colonel" then…" Barrel shrugged.

"So we have to make our way through those accursed lands once more if we wish to strike at their very heart." Pride muttered.

"Correct. But I've gathered a second team which will handle any Navis outside of our "Liberation Missions" and secure Areas 2 & 4. Using some research and such I managed to gather some which hold potential and are good battlers… Tomahawk Man, Killer Man, Slash Man, Ground Man and Thunder Man…" Barrel listed.

"The "Link Navis" we interacted with in Cyber City… Yet Thunder Man must be standing for Heat Man." Netto muttered.

"Obviously." Enzan shrugged.

"Hah! Leave those jerks to us! We'll blow them sky high!"

"Do not rush into the battlefield or you will be slain ere you can draw your _katana_." Dark Miyabi came up with a _sengoku_ motto.

"Aw man! Miyabi! Ya spoil the fun!"

"This isn't fun! It's a job!" Jasmine scolded.

"A mission." Laika merely corrected.

"Ahem, ahem." Barrel cleared his throat.

Everyone fell silent and Barrel merely signaled that the computer connected to the Science Labs HP had been fitted with a multiple Plug-In port extension.

"Go. We've built a shortcut."

"Roger! Plug – In! Transmission!"

The seven Net Navis made it inside of the Science Labs HP and stepped into a doorway connecting with the Reverse Internet 2: they spotted Dark Man and Yamato Man guarding the area which had been cordoned off and another temporary road opened parallel to it.

"Kush, kush… Leave the vigilance up to us… 9986…"

"Yikes. 9986 already…!" Rock Man muttered.

"Hum! No foul servant of evil shall get past this pathway!"

"Indeed…" Shadow Man chuckled.

"That is the word of a proud warrior!" Knight Man exclaimed.

"Let's hurry it up before they can reinforce their defenses!" Search Man hurried them.

"Or else we'll be met with trouble!" Napalm Man yelled.

"Let's go!" Meddy exclaimed.

The group reached the "Nebula Hole Area" entrance and they stopped: Blues cleared his throat.

"Ahem, ahem! Like we did last time… Rock Man, I, Knight Man, Napalm Man & Search Man will come inside. The rest of you wait and hold back any reinforcements." Blues commanded.

"Roger!"

"Let's go! Start "Liberation"!"

"HORRAY!"

The five of them stepped into the area and spotted Shade Man's coffin set in the middle of his "boss" spot which creaked open and a herd of bats flew outside before they gave way to Shade Man: he made a mock reverence and chuckled.

"Ki, ki, ki~! So you've trying to repeat history… But I now am stronger than I was before! Ki, ki, ki~! I desire to have a banquet on your bones! Ki, ki, ki, ki~!" He laughed.

"As smug as always…" Rock Man grumbled.

"Shade Man! Are you masters further ahead?" Blues demanded.

"Ki, ki, ki~! Obviously! And my comrades too…"

"Che! I knew it… And you lowlifes have extra troops guarding Areas 2 & 4 too?"

"Ki, ki, ki~! Correct! Welcome to your worst nightmare!"

"Shaddup." Blues growled.

"Cool it down, Blues! Focus on the mission!" Enzan ordered.

"Roger, Enzan – sama."

"Good! Let's keep it cool too, Rock Man! We gotta clear this no matter what! Gotcha?" Netto rallied.

"Yup, Netto – kun!"

"Let's go! Liberate Panels! Come, Viruses!" Blues announced.

"Good job, Blues! Napalm Man! Your turn!"

"Oh yeah! Napalm Bomb! Let's blow them all!" Napalm Man exclaimed as he freed a large patch of "Dark Panels" with one attack.

"That voice! The damned traitor has therefore come!"

"I SHALL MAKE THEM REPENT THEIR BETRAYAL…"

"Oh, those two. Pharaoh Man, Planet Man! Ya guys seem to have never understood the great me! That place was dull! Sure, the Viruses were though as Hell to beat but I wanted more! And thanks to my new Operator I can do it!"

Pharaoh Man and Planet Man had showed up at Shade Man's sides and were cursing Napalm Man but he didn't mind them as he attacked the Viruses and blew them up.

"Hooray! 1 Turn "Liberation"!" He exclaimed.

"_Nice_, Napalm Man!" Netto grinned.

"The "Dark Hole" comes next! Leave it to me!" Search Man exclaimed as he ran up to it and faced the Viruses which came up.

"Counting on you, Search Man!"

"That reminds me. We should be careful that they don't attempt that strategy Cosmo Man came up with again." Enzan warned.

"Huh? Ah. I remember. Trying to make us fight each other given how we were led to believe each other had joined Nebula." Laika recalled.

"Ki, ki, ki~! We're not as stupid as to retry a failed strategy… And I'll soon strike down on you guys… Ki, ki, ki~!" He laughed.

"One "Dark Hole" went down!"

"My turn! Long Sword! Charge Shot! Neo Variable Sword! Be gone, Viruses!" Rock Man exclaimed as he drew the shape-shifting blade and swung it around.

"My "Phase" then… You'll get into trouble if you go and underestimate the "Darkloids"!" Shade Man exclaimed.

He warped and tried to hit Rock Man yet Knight Man automatically shielded him since he was close by: Shade Man formed a grimace and returned to his position.

"Damn you!" He cursed.

"Damn them!" Both former WWW Navis growled.

"Next "Phase" for us! Let's try to find the "Barrier Key 2"!" Blues suggested.

"Yeah. We need it in order to advance! I'll handle that. You guys try to open a road for the next "Dark Hole"!" Rock Man told them.

"Agreed!" Search Man confirmed.

"Search Man! Scan those spots and disable any traps!" Enzan commanded to him.

"My pleasure. Three items retrieved and three traps disabled… We'll eventually have to veer left and down for the third "Dark Hole" but to find the 2nd one we must go up and right…" He warned them.

"Alright! I found "Barrier Key 2"! This will give us access to the 4th "Dark Hole" but we gotta find "Barrier Key 1" to reach the 5th "Dark Hole" and Shade Man!" Rock Man reported as he held the key out and the "Barrier Panels" were unlocked.

"Good job!" Blues complimented.

"These Viruses are being bothersome but leave the crowded spots to me and my "Royal Wrecking Ball"!" Knight Man exclaimed.

"There! We're getting closer to the 2nd "Dark Hole"!" Laika warned.

"Good! We're making progress!" Pride smiled.

"Leave those jerks to us!" Nenji laughed.

"They can't hope to stand up to us." Enzan muttered.

"Yessir!" Netto was thrilled.

"Emergency! Emergency! Meijin – sama: please come to the Control System Room ASAP!" Someone exclaimed over the speaker.

"I'm not gonna bring you lazy grunts more donuts! Go fetch them yourselves!" Meijin yelled from the adjacent room.

"_That's_ an "emergency"?" Netto was baffled.

"Yeah. For those guys, at least." Enzan grumbled.

"How lazy." Dark Miyabi muttered with some annoyance to his voice.

"… 2nd "Dark Hole" has been "liberated"!" Laika reported.

"Blues! Wide Sword! Check those three item panels!"

"Good! "Barrier Key 1" retrieved, sir!"

"Excellent! Let's make our way to the other three "Dark Holes" and then go face Shade Man." Netto grinned.

"How is it, Meddy?" Jasmine asked.

"Nothing looks out of place. In fact… It's quiet. Very quiet… I can hear the sound of my footsteps even." Meddy whispered.

"I can sense malice in the very air." Shadow Man reported.

"Hum. That's not a good sign. I know the Reverse Internet isn't terribly loud but so much silence… There should be some whispering going on or some brawl…" Barrel brought the right hand to his chin.

"Kush, kush… Something is roaming around here, Yamato Man…"

"Hum! Something dreaded is indeed." Yamato Man muttered.

"Grrr…" A growl rang out.

"Coming!" The four watch Navis exclaimed.

"Grrrr! Grawr! Grrrr!" The growls got louder.

"What, what?" Everyone gasped.

"Barrel! Power outage in Reverse Internet 4 and 3… It's spreading to 2 and 80% of it is unlit!" Meijin suddenly rushed in.

"Truly pitch-black!" Gate Man reported.

"So that's the reason for this silence." Barrel wasn't surprised.

"3rd "Dark Hole" has been "Liberated"! What do we do?"

"Continue! I'm sure that blackout is intended to boycott our Reverse Internet vigilance… IR mode, all of you!"

"Coming! Reverse Internet 2, out of power! Spreading into Reverse Internet 1… The energy is being routed to other sectors of the Cyber World and power spikes are happening in several spots…"

"Grrrr! Grurgh! Gragh!" The growls rang out.

"Enemy confirmed! Moves very fast yet it's two legged. It acts like a feral beast and jumps around on his fours… Height: meter and fifty two! Coming closer!" Shadow Man reported.

"Meter and fifty two? Shirakami?" Netto wondered.

"True. Rock Man is around that height…" Meijin muttered.

"Rings a bell somewhere…" Barrel grimly muttered.

"Grawl!"

"Huh! Killer Beam!"

"Fast! Thousand Spears!"

"Too fast! Shadow Clone! Hah! Hit!"

"Meddy Capsule!"

"Grrr… GRAWL!"

"Hell! What does it take to halt this thing?" Dark Man cursed.

"Come, foul servant of Morgoroth!" Yamato Man taunted.

"Morgoroth?" Netto frowned.

"Melkor, the Great Enemy, Sauron's master…!" Pride described.

"And he commanded foul beasts?" Enzan guessed.

"Yeah. Hence Yamato Man's taunting…"

"Gruh! What power! They got through my armor!"

"Dark Shadow!"

"Fire Spell!"

"Chemical Attack!"

"… 4th "Dark Hole" is gone!" Search Man reported.

"Keep on! We'll handle it! Free the last one, fight Shade Man! Dark Kirisaki: send Killer Man there!" Dark Miyabi commanded.

"Roger, my Master… Killer Man!"

"Nyah, hah, hah! Festival! Bloody festival!" Killer Man laughed.

"Kuh…! Even I got beaten…! This thing keeps on taking damage but they don't seem to slow down! But no blackout will impair me!" Dark Man cursed at the same time.

"I feel something blood-thirsty coming over here…" Shadow Man calmly reported.

"Let them come! Battle Chip, Bug Bomb!" Jasmine exclaimed.

"There! Eat medicine, berserker!" Meddy yelled.

"Grawl! Grrr! Gruh… Grugh… GRRRR!"

"No good! They've built up antibodies in the spot!" Meddy gasped over the line.

"What defenses!" Shadow Man cursed.

"Where's that thing? I wanna slaughter them! Nyah, hah, hah! Hell's Sickle!" Killer Man laughed.

"Grawl! Grrr! Grawl!"

"The whole Reverse Internet is unpowered… We're trying to reroute the energy back there!" Meijin reported.

"Good! Prioritize Area 2! Without some light we can't clearly spot what our opponent is!" Barrel commanded.

"… 5th "Dark Hole" gone! We'll be going for Shade Man!" Rock Man reported at that moment.

"Mwah, hah, hah, hah! Festival! Bloody festival! Come here, freaks! I'm so gonna kill ya!" Killer Man taunted.

"Grrr! Grawl! Gruh! Grah!"

"Can ya hit the great me~? Killer Death Beam!"

"GRUOGH! Grawgh! Grfff!"

"Shade Man! What's going out there?" Rock Man could be heard demanding of him.

"Ki, ki, ki… We let a little pet loose… Ki, ki, ki~!"

"Pet? Beast? _Beast!_ I knew it!" Netto realized and made a scowl as if he knew what was going on.

"Light's back to Reverse Internet 1… Give me 45 seconds and I'll start lighting up Reverse Internet 2…!" Meijin called out.

"… Crush Noise!"

"Grah! Air Shot! Counter Hit! Program Advance! Sword, Wide Sword, Long Sword! Slot In! Dream Sword!" Netto announced.

"EAT THIS!"

"Gruowo~h! Damn you!"

"Hah! Out of 1200 HP I've deduced 820!" Netto grinned.

"Good job, Hikari. Keep it up. You guys! Be wary. The "beast" might try to step inside next for all we know!" Enzan warned.

"Let them come!" Knight Man exclaimed.

"Lights back!"

"T-that's…!"

"I knew it, damn it!"

The attacker of the guardsmen Navis was revealed to be the "G-Beast" Rock Man: yet his body had been re-colored purple, the chest emblem had been deleted thus leaving a black spot and the claws shone red with energy while the eyes displayed mere instinct-guided rage.

"The "G-Beast"! Original Forte was able to rebuild it when we faced him for the last time in the "Underground"…!" Netto cursed.

"I see!" Barrel made a grimace.

"From my calculations… We've all taken out about 80% of this thing's HP yet he's equipped with "Super Armor" to avoid flinching." Shadow Man reported.

"Nyah, hah, hah, hah! Hell's Sickle! Killer Death Beam!"

"Grawl! Grrr! Grurgh!"

"Alright, Rock Man! The finishing blow! Mega Cannon, Triple Slot In! Program Advance! Giga Cannon 3!"

"Say farewell, Shade Man! And stay dead this time!" Rock Man yelled as he aimed the Program Advance.

"Gi, gi~! I am suffering such humiliation once again…! Gi, gi, gi~!"Shade Man exclaimed as he was deleted _once again_.

"Man! The jerk won't stay dead… But we've freed the area! We can go on ahead!" Netto sighed in relief.

"Get ready for pulling back and swapping… Use "Full Energy" Sub Chips and take a few minutes' rest… Let's try beating the "G-Beast" too before going on ahead. Go, Killer Man! Finish them off!" Barrel commanded.

"Mwah, hah, hah, hah! Here I go~! Festival, bloody festival!"

"GRAWR! GRRR!"


	6. Chapter 6: Scapegoats

**Chapter 6: Scapegoats**

11:54 AM (Japan Time), Monday August the 9th…

"… Killer Death Beam!"

"Gruwragh!"

"There! Only 10 HP left!"

"Grugh… Grawl…"

"… We can't afford to let his valuable pet go to waste… Tactical withdrawal, "G-Beast"!"

"That voice… Cosmo Man! You lowlife!"

Killer Man brought the "G-Beast" to the limit of its forces and it convulsed on the ground as it tried to recover yet Cosmo Man's voice suddenly rang out: Search Man made a grimace.

"I have no time to crush you damned mice. Hah!"

A distortion on space formed around the "G-Beast" and it was warped out of the area while the four Navis recovered from their prolonged battle with it.

"Che." Search Man grumbled.

"Alright. Rock Man, Search Man, Shadow and Meddy go on ahead to Area 3… Be careful with Area 2… The others can step inside and hold Area 1 to ensure that we're not trapped between two fronts."

"Roger."

The four selected Navis stepped into Area 2 and found it empty: the Battle Chip vendor was gone too and the whole area's lighting seemed to have been dimmed.

"No lighting tricks will save you from me. Yet there's no-one. I can feel a pulsation of malice which is rather weak, though. It must be coming from the deepest area." Shadow Man reported as he looked around and having the right hand gripping the hilt of his _katana_.

"We're at the borders already…" Meddy muttered.

"… Meddy EXE…" A distorted voice rang out.

"Who…?"

"I hate you." The voice told her.

"Why?"

"You don't need to know why. I just do."

"You can't hate without a reason."

"Hmpf. Well. I do. And I will keep on doing even if m body were to be deleted! My grudge will burn on as a "Grudge Flame"…!"

"Who are you? I can't feel you." Shadow Man demanded.

"Hmpf… I am a power far above yours… The consort of the "Demon King" and the "mistress" of the "Demon Prince"… The "Witch - Queen of Angmar" is who I am!" The voice announced.

"So the letter to Hinoken wasn't a fake?" Rock Man asked.

"No! I wrote it myself. Yet do not mistake me. We are but a three-party-deal. A _triumvirate_. We each share the power and we respect each other, none trying to impose their authority over the other…"

"Maybe you think I've got a crush on Rock Man and that's why you're jealous of me?" Meddy asked.

"It's not something so plebeian or pointless…" The voice replied.

"Something tells me it is." Meddy smirked.

"Hmpf! Clever bothersome woman…"

"Hey! I'm still a "girl"! I'm programmed to be around 14 years old, I know, but I'm still a "girl"! I find it odd a fellow girl would say that." Meddy annoyingly told her.

"Hmpf. I am a woman: why deny reality? Men are men and women are women! Such is reality! Now step into your doom!"

"…Hum, hum! Come over already…! A stormy greeting is waiting for you guys…!"

"Che. Cloud Man!"

"Rock Man! So we meet again… Welcome to your doom! My Mistress: please leave it up to this servant!" He exclaimed.

"Of course. You know what has to be done. But if you fail you go back to sleeping inside of the "Great Dark Swirl"…"

"Your will!"

"If I remember right, this area had a lot of item panels concealing 100 Z data yet there are some traps…" Search Man recalled.

"Send me on ahead for the key… You free that "Dark Hole" in the meanwhile…" Shadow Man suggested.

"I'll help strengthen your "Liberation" range!" Meddy told Rock Man with a smile.

"Count on me to disable traps." Search Man announced.

"Guys… Alright! Let's go for it! The road will be long but we can do it! Start "Liberation"!" Rock Man smiled.

"Hmpf… While you bunch of fools play around I'll go handle other businesses… Maybe I'll recognize your power if you can come all the way to Area 6 alive. Farewell!" The voice exclaimed.

"They've left… So Forte and Shirakami have tagged up with this "Witch-Queen of Angmar" and formed a _triumvirate_... Things are turning uglier as we advance on ahead…!" Netto muttered with some annoyance to his voice.

"So it'd seem." Barrel calmly shrugged.

"… Meteors!"

"Black Hole!"

"What? Netto gasped.

"Nyah, hah, hah, hah! Festival, bloody festival! This mummy thing can't stand up to the great me~!" Killer Man laughed.

"Such tricks shall not work my armor!" Knight Man exclaimed.

"Damn you!"

"DAMN YOU…!"

"Those two got desperate and are trying to attack the rearguard yet they will not succeed." Barrel calmly reported.

"Really! We can't leave anything up to you: what a shame! You were amongst the most powerful and now you're steeping down!" Plant Man laughed.

"Hmpf. That red lowlife is my target!" Flash Man announced.

"Mwah, hah, hah! A though guy for me to beat! Burn!"

"Damn you!"

"Come!"

"As you wish! You'll de deleted!"

"… 1st "Dark Hole" free… How is it, Shadow Man?" Search Man called out in the meanwhile.

"_Nin_!"Barrier Key 1" retrieved… I got an explosive trap amongst the way but no big deal… Now you can advance without having to worry about that suspicious-looking item panel located between two "Barrier Panels" which I suspect to be a trap." Shadow Man reported.

"Good. Let's fight our way to the 2nd one." Rock Man rallied.

"Let me help you. Twin Liberation!"

"Thanks! Let's go, Netto – kun! Panel "Liberation"!"

"Oh yeah! Go for it! Sword, Wide Sword, Long Sword! Slot In! Program Advance! Dream Sword! 1 Turn Liberation!" Netto grinned.

"Good job!"

"Hum, hum. Not bad… But you're still a long way off! You won't reach the great me so easily." Cloud Man muttered.

"Wuga~h! I'm burning…! I'M BURNING…! Uwra~gh!"

"Damn…! I'm split into pieces… Ugo~h!"

"C-curse you…! Guh… Gru~h…!"

"DAMN YOU… MUO~H!"

"Phew! Another four of them have gone down." Pride sighed in relief as swept the sweat from her forehead.

"We've brought chairs." Meijin announced as he and some other members of the staff brought them in.

"Thanks."

"Oi, Meijin!"

"What now, Ookuda?"

"My boat will bat!"

"Not those silly rhymes again… Go codfish." Meijin grumbled.

"My fish will codfish!"

"Get out."

"My out will rout!"

"What in the… That's so silly." Meijin began to look annoyed.

"My gate will rate!"

"You meant me?" Gate Man grumbled.

"My punk will bunk!"

"You mean Punk by now?" Meijin questioned.

"My foot will root!" He laughed.

"And now you mean Foot Man."

"Ookuda." Barrel directed a hostile glare at him.

"Yikes!"

"Get out."

Ookuda ran off like Barrel was going to slaughter him alive there and now: the group sighed in relief.

"… 2nd "Dark Hole" gone… We're making progress… Somehow!" Rock Man reported with a sigh.

"Now we go northwards." Meddy reported.

"Meijin, Meijin! Trouble!" Ookuda ran back in.

"What now?" He looked skeptical.

"Toroido! He's vanished!"

"Toroido? A clerk?" Meijin frowned.

"No, I mean my Toroido autograph!" Ookuda insisted.

"And who is Toroido?" Meijin questioned.

"Oosaka Tigers' best player!"

"Someone must be trolling you. Not my problem." Meijin turned around and didn't seem to care at all.

"But Engon said you did it!" Ookuda exclaimed.

"Engon?" Meijin frowned.

"You know, Rouno's replacement!" Ookuda grumbled.

"I dunno who he is and he's gotta be the one who hid it on his jacket to troll you in the first place." Meijin shrugged his shoulders.

"But he says you're Red Rackham's descendant and that you're prone to looting and piracy!" Ookuda insisted.

"HUH? Red Rackham's descendant? Who the heck is that?" Meijin turned around while being clearly taken aback.

"A pirate of the 17th century who roamed around the Greater Antilles and captured the French royal vessel _Unicorn_: that's who he was! Now give the autograph back to me, Meijin!"

"You _baka_! How could I be a descendant from a pirate in the 17th century to begin with?" Meijin shot back.

"… Alright! Netto – kun! 3rd "Dark Hole" cleared! What's that ruckus over there, though?" Rock Man called out.

"Ookuda – san is telling Meijin that he stole his Oosaka Tigers' autograph 'cause he's Red Rackham's descendant…"

"Red Rackham…? Hey! Didn't those two tell us the tale of the battle of the _Unicorn_ VS the pirates? It was part of some Belgian adventure comic series, right? _Tintin_…" Rock Man recalled.

"Then, that Engon guy…!"

"Oi, Ookuda! Describe Engon!"

"Huh… Meter and sixty… Messy light brown hair… On his 20s… Brown eyes… Has a welcoming smile to him and he looks cool… He's fluid in French. He's always saying "que le grand cric me croque" which means "let devil bite me if…" as a grumbling word…"

"Damn! Copy Forte! Copy Forte has infiltrated us!" Netto gasped.

"What!" Enzan gasped.

"Huh? Copy Forte? Who's that?" Ookuda wondered.

"Ookuda! Is the guy still there?" Barrel jumped over the desk, ran over to him and seized his shirt by the neck area.

"W-well… Five minutes ago… He told me he was going to fetch some donuts…" He gulped.

"Out of the way!"

He shoved him asides and ran off while Enzan went with him: Netto sighed and focused on the PET.

"Oi! Have you seen Engon?"

"He told us he was gonna bring donuts… There he comes!"

"Oho. Ijuuin. Barrel. Been a while!" A voice totally identical to Forte's rang out from the adjacent room.

"Copy Forte!"

"Yessir! Wanna a donut?" He invited.

"… The 4th one! _Nin_!" Shadow Man reported.

"One more!" Search Man rallied.

"So you wanted to stir some ruckus here from the insides?"

"Nope, I wanted to find out who "Witch - Queen of Angmar" is." He calmly replied as if he was just doing small stuff.

"Isn't she your consort?" Enzan questioned.

"MY consort? Who said that?" He sounded surprised.

"… I know how to tell a lie a mile away. He isn't lying."

"What's going on? We came back from sightseeing in Kyoto and we hear that Navis are showing up of nowhere." Copy Forte asked.

"They say you guys were behind their return."

"Ah, ah… The "Evil Kingdom" thing we talked about… That was a lie, I'll admit it. We wanted to add some more fear to the reveal." He admitted with what seemed to be a shrug of the shoulders.

"And you've hid MY autograph?"

"Well! I admit I made the Red Rackham joke… But maybe you accidentally tossed it into the garbage bin with the used papers?"

"Ah! Quick, quick… Here! True! How absent-minded of me! My bad, Meijin!" Ookuda exclaimed.

"Don't mind it."

"… Phew! Last one! Let's go tell that cloud-riding guy to speak clearly about what the deal around here is." Meddy sighed in relief.

"Yeah! Pull out his ugly tongue!" Jasmine rallied.

"Where's Shirakami?" Enzan demanded.

"_Aibou_? Wrapping up some stuff."

"The deal with Kanou Shade?"

"Oh. So you've seen the guy. Yeah. We're moving into that place. We're interested in the selling of Battle Chips too so we'll set our store there. That district is very lacking."

"Hum! I find somewhat hard to believe this after the whole thing with Nebula…" Barrel told him.

"That of Nebula was… How should I say it…? Oh yeah. A drama. Yeah, that's it. A drama. Hey. No – one died. And it ain't our fault that Mt. Fuji erupted either! We did never harm those two guys either. We were interested in seeing if it was possible to harvest "hatred" made up of data…" He casually told them.

"… Hum, hum! So you've come all the way here." Cloud Man could be heard saying in the meanwhile.

"So? It'd seem your lies are crumbling." Shadow Man taunted.

"Oh damn." He cursed.

"Then the only one ruling over you is that woman."

"Yeah! But before you can go on ahead I'll make sure to trap you inside of the "Obscure Nebula" like we did back then!" Cloud Man roared.

"Come." Shadow Man challenged.

"Elec Storm!" Cloud Man exclaimed.

"Hmpf."

"Damn! _Kawarimi_! Damn you~!" He insulted.

"Well then… If you wanna come bargain meet us in this address. See ya, guys. And tell Hikari and Rock Man we dropped by. Could you tell Higure Yamitarou that we're gonna accept his broom fight challenge?"

"HUH? Broom fight?" Enzan was surprised.

"That's true!" Netto called out.

"Yo! Hikari. You sound like the usual energetic guy. Well then, tell Rock Man to come anytime too. _Au revoir_!"

"There he goes… So, Mr. Barrel?" Enzan asked.

"He didn't lie: I caught it on his voice and he didn't avoid eye contact with us either. In fact I'd say he's gotten amused." Barrel settled.

"… Gruh! Many Cloud!"

"Hmpf… Shadow Clone! Eat this!"

"Damn!"

"Here comes a blow it all Program Advance! Corn Shot 1, Corn Shot 2, Corn Shot 3! Program Advance! Corn Party! Go!"

"The end."

"Muwo~h! Gruo~h! W-what power…! Mugra~h!"

"The base power is 40. I can make a total of 16 hits. That sums up to 640 HP of damage yet given how you're weak to wood this becomes 1280 HP of damage." Shadow Man calmly listed.

"M-mistress…! I have failed thee…! Punish me…! Guo~h!"

"Target deleted. "Liberation" success!"

"Phew! Only Area 5 left but that's a nightmare!"

"We've got no other options: we must continue on ahead." Barrel warned.

"Yeah! We must find out the true colors of this "Witch - Queen"!"

"Yup, Netto – kun! Let's go, guys! To Area 5 we go!"


	7. Chapter 7: Malice

**Chapter 7: Malice**

12:49 PM (Japan Time), Monday August the 9th…

"… Area 4… All empty… Can you feel anything, Shadow Man?"

"No… Nothing."

"Good. Then they must be either in the Graveyard or the other areas occupied by them…"

"Obviously…"

"We'll have to swap members!"

The four Navis made it through Nebula Hole Area 4 unharmed and reached Nebula Hole Area 5: Search Man nodded and left so that Blues and Knight Man could come back Rock Man and Meddy.

"We heard the talk. It'd seem this is more complicated than what we'd initially thought." Blues told them.

"Foul devices are at work…" Knight Man muttered.

"Hyururu~! Ya won't get past here!" Blizzard Man called out.

"You damned mice shall be grinded into spatial dust!" Cosmo Man claimed with his usual smug smile.

"Where is the "Witch - Queen"?" Rock Man demanded.

"Hmpf… No need to know! Since you damned mice will soon be dead and your bones cursed thrice." Cosmo Man smugly replied.

"He's starting to sound like a fantasy setting guy." Pride muttered with a hint of annoyance.

"I find your lack of faith disturbing." He taunted.

"Faith on _what_?"

"On the "Dark Side of the Force". Obviously enough."

"Come on… Now they're quoting Darth Vader?" Netto grumbled.

"Hmpf…"

"Whatever. We'll need your "Long Sword" and Meddy's "Twin Liberation" to extend the range of our "Liberate" and fetch the "Barrier Keys" hidden behind the rows of "Barrier Panels"… We'll defeat Blizzard Man along the way and retrieve the last "Barrier Key"… We _must_ prioritize the "Barrier Key" retrieval or we won't be able to get close to the "Dark Holes" in order to "Liberate" them…" Blues exposed the strategy.

"Alright." The other members acknowledged.

"Well then… Why don't I treat you to some _fine_ vocabulary by Captain Haddock?" Cosmo Man taunted.

"Heck. He's picked the habit of his old bosses."

"Indeed… Do you have coke onboard the ship, mice?"

"Coke?" Netto frowned.

"Coke coal?" Enzan wondered.

"I thought no-one used coke coal anymore. Why would you carry it on a ship if it's worthless?" Laika frowned.

"Then you're not carrying anything? Hah, hah, hah… But you mice don't realize it… There _is_ coke onboard the ship."

"Smuggling?" Laika guessed.

"Well. More or less… Hmmm… Yes… Good muscles… Fine, fine… And the teeth? Open it up, lad… Hmmm… Not bad… Pretty sane teeth…"

"I've lost track of what you mean." Enzan grumbled.

"Hey! You! Are you done acting the jockey? This man is no slave, no horse and no…!"

"That sailor dialect gotta be Captain Haddock…" Nenji guessed.

"Chut! Don't speak that word! You know pretty well that you must say "coke" instead…" Cosmo Man came up with that exaggerated foreign accent again.

"But… Then "coke" is a codename for something else…?" Pride wondered aloud.

"…"Coke"! Blistering barnacles! Tintin was right: there are still slavers around here! And you're the one doing the trading! You human flesh smuggler jerk! You deserve being hung from the mizzenmast's main yard by me!"

"That sounds like a 17th century sailing ship punishment…" Laika sounded surprised, even.

"Attention!"

"Attention… What? The smuggler tried to attack them?" Knight Man tried to guess.

"… "Barrier Key 1" retrieved… How is it over there, Shadow Man?" Rock Man called out.

"_Nin_! "Barrier Key 2" retrieved too… We've wasted two "Phases" already to get here but we can now go tackle the "Dark Holes"…"

"You cut-throat jerk! You're lucky that I don't make you swallow up your beard! But whatever! Flee, viper! And don't cross paths with me ever again! Flee, filibuster! Out of my sight, you gallows-bird!"

"Gallows-bird? What's gallows?" Netto asked.

"I think it's better for you not to know." Enzan replied.

"Guess so." Rock Man muttered.

"Hyrururu~! Lemme shine a bit too, Cosmo Man! Ahem, ahem! You monkey! You carpet-merchant! You paranoid! You sequel of the smallpox! You cannibal!" Blizzard Man laughed.

"Lovely. The skiing jerk joins the party!" Nenji grumbled.

"You platypus! You drunkard! Your foreign irregular! You cannibal! You monkey! You schizophrenic! Hum… You prankster!"

"No use, Captain. They've gotten pretty far by now."

"Huh? Ah! I see. Haddock and Tintin are aboard a ship and the others came in a boat or something similar which is fleeing…" Laika realized on that moment.

"… Good! Our two-front strategy was worth it: we've freed two "Dark Holes" and we can now tackle that one slightly ahead of these two: then we bring war to Blizzard Man and the other two "Dark Holes"…" Blues exposed their next move.

"… Ah! That's what you think, my lad… Well then! I haven't finished telling what I think of them!"

"So how is he going to tell them? Via radio?" Dark Miyabi asked with some skepticism.

"… Where are you going to?"

"To the bridge."

"The command bridge, you mean to say?" Nenji guessed.

"You pirate! You ectoplasm! You colocynth! You rapacious! You death-defying! You Ostrogothic! You vandal!"

"… I think that they really are pretty far by now…"

"Yea! But it served them well… To those slavers!"

"Hyururu~! My turn to shine! Quick, quick! Let's unlock this damned machine! PCKRA~PRVT! TRRKHRA~H! You damned bazaar-like stuff of stuff! Take this! OUWA~H!" Blizzard Man laughed.

"He tried to unlock a blocked mechanism, got hit and then tried to hit it in rage only to feel even further pain?" Shadow Man chuckled.

"Take this! You dirty slot machine! Take this!"

"Heh, heh, heh. Amusing." Shadow Man chuckled.

"Good! 3 "Dark Holes" have fallen… Blizzard Man! You lowlife's turn has come!" Blues announced.

"Hyururu~! Come! I'll turn ya into ice!" He laughed.

"Ice and whatever. You can't hope to come even to Freeze Man's level of power!" Rock Man taunted.

"Wha~t? Damn you!" He cursed.

"The way's clear! Let's go!" Blues rallied.

"I'll go! The enemy has 1600 HP… But I can clear it on 3 Turns! Blizzard Man! Get ready!" Rock Man announced.

"Grah! I'll bury ya under a snowy grave!"

"Come! Battle Operation, Set!"

"In!"

"Hyururu~! Here I come~!"

Blizzard Man immediately began to move around the field and he began to kick snow balls towards Rock Man which he dodged: he grinned and Blizzard Man gasped.

"Program Advance! Elec Pulse 1, 2, 3! Slot In! Destroy Pulse!"

"Eat this!"

"Hyuwawawa~h!" He yelped.

"Its base power is 400 HP: you're weak to Elec-Type Viruses so you suffer double that amount plus paralyzing and HP bug!"

"Wha! Damn you! Snow Rolling!"

Blizzard Man compacted into a ball of snow and rolled towards Rock Man who dodged yet he caused for some mounds of snow to drop around the field and limit his movements.

"Let's finish it now! Air Shot! Counter Hit! Program Advance! Sword, Wide Sword, Long Sword! Slot In! Dream Sword!"

"Go back to Alaska~!" Rock Man yelled as he formed the "Dream Sword" and charged towards Blizzard Man.

"Hyuwawawa~h! IMPOSSIBLE~! MISTRESS!" He yelped.

"You lowlife are next!" Blues told Cosmo Man.

"Hmpf! Cosmo Planet!"

"Uck! That hurt…!" Blues growled.

"_Nin_! "Barrier Key 1" retrieved… Let's go for the last two "Dark Holes" and we can defeat that golden man." Shadow Man announced.

"Hmpf… Hello, Colonel Ahmed? Me, Mull Pacha, of Sheik Bab El Ehr's HQ… Order your "mosquitoes" to take off immediately… Hello? Yes. Mission: strike down a group of riders which have escaped Wadesdah headed for the Jabal… Hello? Get it? Good… Armored cars are also in route… Hello? Yes, it is partisans of Ben Kalish Ezab… Yes, strike down…"

"A phone call?" Laika wondered.

"And that's somewhere in the Middle East given the names." Barrel deduced next.

"… There! Fire!"

"… Oh! Listen! They're shooting at something in the desert!"

"Our own planes! They're crazy!"

"You're not gonna tell me the planes actually bombed the armored cars thinking it was their target…" Enzan looked skeptical.

"Hello! Me, Black Panther… First mission accomplished: both armored cars have gone up in flames…"

"… Hello! Yes… Ah! Mission successful… Perfect! Both armored cars have been destroyed? Congratulations, Colonel Ahem! Your pilots are real aces! The armored cars… WHAT?" He began to sound amused but then let out a yelp of shock.

"Oho. The boss is catching up." Shadow Man chuckled.

"Quick! Connect me to Colonel Ahmed… Ah! It's you… Eh… I must've misunderstood. You haven't told me that both armored cars…" He nervously told the other person.

"…have been destroyed! Well. Just like you ordered. I've already congratulated the pilots in your behalf… Excuse me?" A cheery voice answered.

"Say what? Did I order that to you? Triple imbecile! The only thing you had to strike down was the riders! Council of war…! Martial court…! Stand trial…! Degradation…!" He hissed as menaces.

"It'd seem Colonel Ahmed got himself into a pretty tight spot. Speaking of spots, both remaining "Dark Holes" are gone…" Shadow Man chuckled and shrugged.

"Good! Rock Man! Tackle the guy!" Blues commanded.

"Roger!"

"So you've come to try again." Cosmo Man taunted.

"You sound like I'd lost last time around." Rock Man grumbled.

"Who knows?" He taunted next.

"Whatever. Bring it on, Cosmo Man!"

"Hmpf! I'll turn you lowlife into spatial dust!"

"Coming, Netto – kun!"

"OK! Battle Operation, Set!"

"In!"

"Cosmo Ring!"

"Huh! Fast…!" Rock Man gasped.

"Total HP: 1500… Hmmm… Yoyo, Triple Slot In! Program Advance! Yoyo Great! Fire!" Netto grinned.

"Cosmo Gate!"

Rock Man ignored the raining meteors and hit Cosmo Man 6 times with the Program Advance: he growled and stepped back while Rock Man dodged the meteors.

"Come! Cosmo Man!" He taunted.

"Hmpf! Cosmo Buster!"

The three gigantic planetoids with their rings came up and Rock Man was able to destroy two of them but got hit by the third: yet he suddenly vanished in a cloud of smoke and the _kawarimi_ doll was left on his place: Cosmo Man didn't look impressed and spotted Rock Man high in the air who threw a _shuriken_ at him.

"Hmpf… A mere attack of 100 HP won't…!"

But Rock Man didn't stop there and kept on shooting _shuriken_ at Cosmo Man thus stopping him from moving.

"You lowlife…! Bodyguard Program Advance…!"

"Yeah! I'll shoot 10 _shuriken_ in a row! And since I'd deduced 600 HP from you before you'll be defeated when the 9th one rains down! I came prepared! Go back to your intangible world and never come out again, "Darkloids"!"

"Like when the Valar finally overthrew Melkor and chained him in the Void forever!" Princess Pride exclaimed.

"So that's why he wasn't around by the trilogy's time?" Netto asked while looking up.

"Correct. He'd been gone for over 6000 years. Sauron was a lesser deity compared to Melkor but powerful enough thanks to his "One Ring" which is the central axis of the _Lord of the Rings_…"

"Good! These areas are free again." Blues sighed in relief.

"Let's advance into the core section. But let me warn you: your own "Dark" reflections are lurking there. And if they're not defeated then we can't investigate the central section where the "Lord of Chaos" had its abode… Something tells me that "Witch - Queen of Angmar" has set her throne there." Rock Man warned them.

"We know."

"Meijin – sama, Meijin – sama. A visitor is waiting on the 4th conference room. Please come immediately."

"Visitor for me? Weird. Dunno who it could be… Oh wait. Could be a fan of me or another… If they want a sign then no problem… We've restored power to the Reverse Internet anyway." Meijin muttered.

"Tonight, my Program – kun brethren… The revolution!"

"Shut up, Frank."

"What was _that_?" Enzan wondered.

"Some prank left behind by those two?" Laika suggested.

"Could be, yeah… I thought Programs didn't have names and I find it odd that they should use a foreign name…" He muttered.

"Smaug the Dragon will come forth from the halls of Erebor the Lonely Mountain and burn it all!"

"The dragon in the "_The Hobbit_"?" Pride wondered.

"Shut up, Frank."

"_Raid On the City, Knock it off, Evil Tusks_!" The Program – kun exclaimed in English and emphasizing some letters.

"What's that supposed to be? A movie tag-line?" Netto wondered.

"Dunno." Nenji scratched the back of his head.

"R! O! C! K! E! T!" The Program – kun chanted.

"R – O – C – K – E – T?" Everyone wondered.

"ROCKET! ROKKETO DAN!"

"Rocket Gang? From _Pocket Monsters Fire Red Leaf Green_? Is that supposed to be their tag-line?" Netto wondered.

"Hmmm… It'd seem that's on the popular _manga_ adaptation named _Pocket Monsters Special_… From what I can find that's supposed to be the origin of the name "Rocket"…" Rock Man reported.

"Well! That sounds cool!" Netto grinned.

"Cosmo Man. How are…? Damn. Stronger than I thought!"

"So! You've come back, "Witch - Queen of Angmar"!" Rock Man challenged by looking upwards and spotting her cloaked figure.

"Che! I won't let you get past this spot! Rise, "Hatred Door"!"

"No big deal! Healing Pulse!"

"Che! Forgot about you, woman… I got carried away when taking care of a loose end and it'd seem I need to bring down some punishment into you too to make sure you don't get in MY way." She scoffed.

"Come on. Admit it already. You're trying to seduce Rock Man and come up with some ploy in which you turn him into your servant."

"I don't need to do such idiotic things! Regarding Rock Man I'll find out that guy's weakness and totally erase him from this world! Forever! My word!" She cursed.

"Then maybe you should've tried to do this when I was trapped inside of Proto for months." Rock Man taunted.

"Che! I wasn't around here yet! I was travelling! But who cares! I'll annihilate all of you lowlifes sooner or later… You may have won this territory, but we hold the WWW Area and the Underground! And also Black Earth, the Graveyard and the Immortal Area plus all of Cyber City's Reverse Internet! I've got plenty of servants to spare! And I can always bring them to life again! Countless times! An unending campaign! Such is my desire! That you will be filled with despair and abandon all hope thus destroying your own selves!" She exclaimed in a rush.

"Sorry. But we won't let that happen in _our_ watch! We "Darkloid Suppression Unit Team of Colonel" won't give up!"

Rock Man and the others aimed their weapons at her and she let out a terrific echoing shriek before she fled into the inner area.

"After her!" Rock Man rallied.


	8. Chapter 8: The evil spreads

**Chapter 8: The evil spreads**

14:14 PM (Japan Time), Monday August the 9th…

"… Here it is! Nebula Hole Area 6!"

"Meddy! Try to open that door. We'll cover you!"

"Roger!"

The Navis ran inside and Meddy immediately got to work with the door while the others looked around: immediately enough the six flames hovered towards them and began to shine.

"The "Dark Flames" are burning! Be careful! These opponents have a base HP which is then increased by resting 1% of your total HP, multiplying it by 1000 and adding it up to the base HP!" Rock Man warned.

"Che. How bothersome!"

"Stall them, "Dark Flames"!" "Witch – Queen of Angmar" commanded as she stood in the platform in front of the swirl.

"… The door's open! Go, Rock Man!"

"… Alright! Be careful!"

"Split off!" Blues ordered.

Rock Man rushed up the ramp while the others headed for each isolated square and fought their "DS" reflections: he reached the spot where "Witch-Queen of Angmar" was standing at and spotted how she'd drawn a cat-o'-nine-tails whip which she menacingly held in her right hand.

"Come any closer and I'll have you taste ultimate pain!"

"So you won't negotiate." Rock Man aimed the "Rock Buster" at her and didn't look surprised.

"Who is gonna negotiate with you lowlifes? Come not between the Nazgûl and its prey!" She exclaimed.

"You aren't a Ring-wraith."

"Shut up! Shut up! SHUT UP!" She roared.

"What temper!" Netto muttered.

"GUO~H… ENOUGH! SERVANT! STEP BACK… THE WHITE SOUL HAS RETURNED: I SHALL HANDLE IT… MY POWER HAS BEEN INCREASED EVER SINCE THAT TIME…!"

"L-Lord of Chaos, Chaos King, my lord…!"

"What! Nebula Grey? You're still alive! And what's more: when did you gain a "self"?" Rock Man gasped.

"HAH… I ALWAYS HAD IT! I JUST HAD NO NEED TO SHOW IT TO DAMNED WHITE SOULS LIKE YOU LOWLIFES…!"

Nebula Grey formed out of the swirl and loomed over Rock Man while roaring: a purple-colored Quick Man was standing at the feet of the creature and next to the cloaked "Witch-Queen of Angmar" who was making a reverence.

"Quick Man?" Rock Man wondered.

"This is but one of countless incarnations! My core essence lies within these spare incarnations! Black Earth is filled with my will too! And my will has allowed me to summon an interesting pawn!" "Quick Man" smugly announced.

"Interesting pawn?" Rock Man frowned.

"Come forth! Count of Land-soaking Blood!"

"Hah, hah, hah! I've returned! And this time all this Land shall be soaked in blood with no brats around to stop me!"

"Oh heck! Didn't Django – kun and Otenko – sama erase you from this world with my help?" Rock Man cursed.

"Hah! I've been revived. I'll be thankful to this guy for a while. But now you can't defeat me without that stupid kid around!"

"Fight! Slay the white soul!" "Quick Man" ordered.

"Mwah, hah, hah!"

"… Outside… Ready…!" Netto whispered to Rock Man.

"Roger… Flame Sword!"

"Hah! Vain!" The Count taunted.

"Yoyo!"

"Vain too! Everything's in vain! Die trying, brat!"

"OK! All ready! Go, Rock Man! Django, Django V2, Django V3! Slot In! Program Advance! Crossover!" Netto grinned.

"What!"

"Eat this!" Rock Man roared.

Both Rock Man and Django appeared on the field and attacked the Count with a combo of Rock Buster and Gun del Sol before intercrossing their attacks: the Count roared as he was deleted.

"Hmpf… So you can freely use the sun's power now… I should have seen it coming yet it slipped me…" "Quick Man" grumbled.

"You're next! Nebula Grey!"

"I do not think so! Come! Servant!"

"Power… Absolute power… I have… ABSOLUTE POWER…! I'll discharge the whole of it… on you lowlife… and return to being… the Cyber World's strongest one…!"

"Oh damn."

"Original Forte!" Netto cursed.

A new Forte having his usual cloak and his eyes shining with purple emptiness jumped down from inside of the swirl: his whole body was surrounded by a tint of purple which quickly varied in brightness and intensity: his voice sounded hollow and broken like it was the only thing he could think of.

"Ahem, ahem. Vaccine Chip."

"Ugra~h! Uwa~h! Gu~h!"

"What! Who the hell!"

"Who dares to interfere with the "Lord of Chaos"…? You lowlife! The empty shell!"

"Kanou – san!"

Something was shot at Original Forte's chest emblem and it began to radiate with the colors of the rainbow as a blue soothing light travelled across his body: he collapsed into his fours while Kanou Shade's Net Navi came up the ramp.

"A little something I'd been working on… Antibodies to "Dark Chips" which can purge all of the "Dark Power" in a Navi… A "Vaccine Chip". Well then, why don't you show your colors, "Witch – Queen of Angmar"? Did the "Ice Queen" send you? Or that abomination over there spawned you?"

"I know no "Ice Queen"! I obey Chaos King!"

"Hum… Things look dangerous… My servant! Flee along with me to Black Earth… We shall think of something there!"

"Roger! But don't think this is the end… Our power is very strong and it'll keep on growing!"

The "monster" broke down into multiple purplish "Grudge Flames" and flew skywards along with "Quick Man" and the "Witch – Queen of Angmar" while Original Forte was still agonizing.

"He's let the "Dark Power" come way too deep into his body. Let's leave him alone. He won't admit any help."

"I know. How are the others faring like?" Rock Man asked as he headed down the ramp.

"He gave us some of those "Vaccine Chips" too. Hell. I don't want to face these things ever again. My word." Blues admitted: he was filled with battle wounds.

"Then let's get out and rest: we've been at it for over 4 hours already today! Thanks again, Kanou – san. You seem to bring help when unaccounted for."

"Well. I do. I am somewhat like Gandalf: showing up one day without previous warning." He admitted with a shrug of the shoulders.

"Tactical withdrawal!"

All Navis retreated and the only one left was Original Forte whose body began to smoke and the blue light vanished: he slowly lifted up his head and looked around while being seemingly confused.

"Huh? Where am I…? Where's Wily! That human! Fooling me and betraying me…! Leaving me to be swallowed up by Proto…! After that bothersome blue Navi got in the way…! Ugh…! My memories are blurry but… I escaped… somehow? And then I found… that "Bug Fusion Body" thing…? I absorbed the power but after that… Ugh. My head's spinning and I dunno what I've been done all this time… Huh! The "Dark Power" in me is… gone? Weird. Whatever! I'll absorb it again!" He muttered as a scowl formed upon his face.

He managed to stand up somehow even though his balance was far from perfect: he touched the swirl and it immediately began to shrink at a maddening rate until it was deleted: he gasped.

"W-what did I do?" He wondered.

He then scanned the area and seemed to frown.

"… This doesn't look like the Reverse Internet. It's filled with "Dark Power" but it isn't Black Earth: I'd been there before… Hum… Where is this, then…?" He grumbled.

He stepped out into Area 5 and spotted how there were remains of the battles fought there a while ago.

"Something happened here… A lot of Viruses and other programs have been deleted here… Get Ability Program: Activate! I'll gather what's left and try to see if I can pick something useful!"

14:28 PM (Japan Time)…

"… So in the end we've found out that the real instigator of these incidents and the one with enough power to revive so many Net Navis is none other than "Nebula Grey"… Which has a will of its own and can use the shapes of Net Navis to move around…"

"What a monster!"

"OOKUDA~! STICK OUT YOUR NECK! YOU'RE GONNA REGRET IT DEARLY THIS TIME~!"

"What now?"

Barrel had been making a resume of the events when Meijin's yells rang out and everyone looked at the door.

"Where's Ookuda!" He cursed as he burst in.

"We thought he was there." Enzan merely replied.

"Well! He isn't!"

"What? He tried to send someone to denounce you?" Nenji asked.

"No~! The guy came up with a hologram of Darth Vader with that "I find your lack of faith disturbing" motto and it looked like he was gonna split me in two with that light-saber and then I realized it was a replaying loop – programmed hologram!" He cursed.

"He sure has gone overboard now!" Netto muttered.

"I wanna show him what I think of his pranks!"

"Maybe he's hiding in the harbor." Barrel offered.

"Of course! The harbor! Ookuda~! Get ready! I won't lose to a fisting showdown!"

Meijin ran off and everyone (save for Dark Miyabi) looked exasperated at the whole business.

"How lovely." Barrel grumbled.

"So… What are we gonna do?" Nenji asked.

"For the time being… Rest. I'll call you again this afternoon and assign you pairs to go scout and see how far the control of the "Witch - Queen of Angmar" goes to…" Barrel replied.

"Yeah. We need to get an idea of just how many opponents we need to face." Netto nodded in agreement.

"Let's move out then!" Jasmine suggested.

"Netto! Netto!"

"Wha! Meiru! Knock firstly, will ya? This is an important meeting! What happened?"

"Roll! Roll was…! Roll was…!"

"What happened to Roll – chan?"

Meiru suddenly burst in while looking pale and horrified: she was holding her PET on the right hand and trembling like she'd gone through some shock or another.

"Roll was…! Roll was…!" She kept on sobbing.

"W-whoa! There! Calm down, Meiru! Eh… Jasmine! Can't you try to talk to her?" Netto suggested.

"Yeah! Come this way, Sakurai! We'll do girls' talk."

"Let me help too." Pride offered.

"Roll was…! Roll was…! No! They won't vanish! Those images! The agony she's gone through! They've scarred her for life! Roll!" She began to yell in a hysterical tone of voice.

"What! One of those Navis attacked her? Damn them!" Rock Man cursed aloud.

"… I think it's more than that." Dark Miyabi muttered.

"Yeah. I get that feeling too." Barrel admitted.

14:52 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Well. We've got pretty bad news, really. Huh? Where's everyone else, Mr. Barrel?"

"I sent them back. I told Hikari Netto to stay because he's a companion of that girl… So what happened?"

"We've found out another trait of that "Witch-Queen of Angmar" and we figure out what the gal was up to while we were trying to make our way through the Nebula Hole Area…"

"She tried to delete her?"

"No. Not exactly."

Jasmine and Pride came back in: only Barrel and Netto had been left in the room by now and Netto looked nervous: both girls looked depressed and were sighing.

"Well… She abducted Roll and tortured her. She wanted him to explain all about her Operator. She was very cruel… She's a sadist! Even though Roll didn't try to resist to begin with she kept on torturing her! And now she'll be targeting her Operator next! She's a sadist who picks on girls just because she's that: a sadist! A sadist and a torturer!" Pride explained.

"We need to defend her!" Jasmine added.

"I see. So civilians have gotten dragged into this too… Well… They already were yesterday yet today's incident… Things are turning ugly way too fast for my taste." Barrel muttered.

"… Next time I'll… delete that villain!" Rock Man hissed.

"Rock Man. Anger won't do it. Remember how they used it back when our first battle with "Nebula Grey"… How the whole point of their kidnapping of you two, the imprisoning and the being forced to do their bidding was a ruse to increase your hate and use it to feed that freakish thing. So you must be rational and cool." Barrel scolded.

"… You're right, Barrel – san… I couldn't help it…"

"Be cool and level. If not you die. That's the rule of the battlefield: get it, Rock Man?" Barrel warned.

"Understood… Roll – chan… Where is she now?"

"In the main lab… Meddy is tending to her wounds and they're going to lock her memories of it. They can't delete them because they're too powerful and linked to body reactions which could end up numb and that wouldn't benefit her… I'm gonna stay with Sakurai." Jasmine announced with a sigh.

"I'll secure a "Copy Roid" so that you stand a chance against that woman if she intends to show up there. But after announcing it so boldly she cannot hope to catch us unprepared. Maybe she'll bid her time and try to draw Meddy away with "Hatred Doors"…" Barrel muttered.

"Then I guess the "Meddy Soul" would help us replace her?"

"Yeah. That'd do fine. After all we don't need to do any more "Liberation Missions" so…"

"Phew." Netto sighed in relief.

"Ah! Here they are! Bring out the broom!"

"Huh? Number Man. What are you doing here?"

"Huh? Ah? My? Is this… the Science Labs?"

"Yeah. Did you pick the wrong road?" Rock Man asked.

"My! How odd. I was intending to go to End City via the HP Warp Point but I've ended up here… Maybe Yamitarou switched them around and forgot to fix the labels… Sorry for interrupting." Number Man apologized while sounding curious.

"End City…! The communications system… "Shachihoko Castle"…! I better contact Laika. I've got a hunch that they might try to interfere with Cyber World communications again!" Barrel quickly guessed.

"Oh hell! They don't give us a break?" Netto cursed aloud and banged a wall with his left fist.

"A real war doesn't give you breaks. You defeat the enemy or you die trying." Barrel icily told them.

"Huh… Y-yeah… R-right…" Netto gulped.

"We'll escort her home."

"Good. Tell Knight Man to be on standby once he finishes resting: I'm going to send some of the reserve Navis on ahead." Barrel replied as he typed into the console.

"If memory serves… Enzan did tell us that Nebula was intending on making the server plus the castle blow up a few months ago… Could they be trying to do that once again?" Netto wondered.

"Wouldn't surprise me, coming from those…"

"Can we go and at least have lunch?"

"Yeah. The reserve Navis will do some scouting and bring us news. Make sure to lock your "Copy Roid" with a password… Incidentally… I know you're using Iris' one because I did give it to you, but what did you do with the model Copy Forte and Shirakami gave you, Rock Man?"

"Oh? That? Papa is studying it still. He's found many design improvements especially in the power core which he was able to duplicate and implant into Iris' one to make it way more energy-efficient…"

"Hum. Then I'll tell him to keep it safe. I guess the enemy only has access to those in Cyber City which have a battery limit and must spend a lot of hours recharging… And not too many could have survived… I know that there were all those grunts scattered around all Cyber City using Copy Roids but they got damaged by the Cybeasts' explosions… Luckily both I and Wily survived despite being at the origin point… The floor and roof collapsed and… Well. You know the rest. Point is: we gotta cut their supply of "Copy Roids" or else this conflict will spread into the real world thus harming innocent civilians…!" Barrel exposed.

"_Witch - Queen of Angmar"… I'll never forgive you! Hikari Netto's word!_

_I'll defeat you! Hikari Saito's word! Get ready!_


	9. Chapter 9: Scouting parties

**Chapter 9: Scouting parties**

15:45 PM (Japan Time), Monday August the 9th…

"… Man! This place is filled with nuts hard to crack! But I like those! Nyah, hah, hah! Right, Slash Man?"

"Yeah. Look there."

"I'm Quick Man! I'm gonna beat you a 100 times over!"

"Hoa~h! I'm Air Man! Hoa~h!"

"Nyah, hah, hah, hah! Festival, bloody festival!"

"Get ready."

Killer Man and Slash Man had been pacing around the Cyber City section of the Reverse Internet and stumbled upon Quick Man and Air Man blocking the road to a deeper section.

"Quick Boomerang!"

"Hoa~h! Tornado~!"

"Killer Death Beam!"

"Rolling Slasher!"

Quick Man shot his boomerangs at Killer Man who countered with the beam shot from the "eye" drawn on his torso: Air Man formed a tornado but Slash Man formed his spinning form to cut through it and hit Air Man several times in a row.

"Hoa~h! Triple Tornado~!"

"V – Sword!"

"Hyah, hah, hah, hah! Hell's Sickle!"

"Wide Slash!"

"Grah! You won't get past here! The Mistress commands us!"

"Hoa~h! That's right!"

"Mistress and whatever! I wanna kill!"

"No – one will stop the allies of justice!"

"Hell! Oi, Air Man! Resort to the ace-in-the-hole!"

"Roger! Hoa~h!"

"Dark Chip! Dark Sword!"

"Hoa~h! Dark Chip! Dark Tornado!"

"Damn!"

"Shit!"

Both attackers were hit by the respective "Dark Chips" and the evil Navis began to shin with purple lighting while their irises began to be tinted purple: both began to emit hollow chuckles.

"How foolish! You lowlifes have been consumed by this power already: how weak-willed! Yet! You lowlifes' weaknesses have proven useful: spread hatred and grudge! March as one, as shells under my command! Our forces shall sweep this Cyber World and plunge it into chaos and calamity!" A voice proclaimed.

"What the hell?" Killer Man cursed.

"Che. That sounds bad."

"Bad? Nay! It is the advent of a calamity which you lowlifes shall be unable to halt!" The voice laughed.

"Whatever! I just wanna kill! Horra~h! Death Killer Beam!"

"Rolling Slasher!"

"Useless!"

Both Navis suddenly formed spherical barriers made of "negative energy" which repelled their attacks: both Navis gasped and formed grimaces upon realizing the tight spot they were in.

"Now die!"

15:58 PM (Japan Time)…

"… How is it, Thunder Man?"

"I haven't spotted anything weird, Raoul."

"Puku! My turn to shine came, puku! No – one outruns the great and mighty Bubble Man – sama, puku! I'll defeat you easily, puku! You stand no chance, puku!"

"What?"

"This guy looks lame."

"What? How dare you! Puku! I'm the strongest!"

"Oh yeah? Elec Beam!"

"Yikes, puku!"

"See? That little of an attack scares you."

"I wasn't scared, puku! I got startled, puku!"

"It's the same thing, you loophole-user."

Thunder Man had snuck into the "Underground" of Cyber City's Central Area and stumbled upon Bubble Man who was trying to play the cool guy but sucked at it: Thunder Man shot at the ground in front of him and he got startled so Thunder Man shrugged while Bubble Man began to make up stupid loopholes.

"Take that back, puku!"

"I won't. Out of the way. I can fry you in just 5 seconds."

"Hell! Heck! I'll remember this, puku… No! I'll use this! Dark Chip! Dark Lance! Puku, puku! Heh, heh, heh!"

"What in the…? Damn! Ugh! 800 HP of damage! But I still have 500 HP left! Thunderbolt!" Thunder Man growled as he lifted his arms and summoned a thundercloud.

"PUKUKUKU~!"

Bubble Man ended up burnt and smoking: he muttered something and collapsed into the ground, clearly out of energies: Thunder Man ran past him and accessed the "Immortal Area" which was filled with vapors and a snoring sound from further ahead.

"Careful." Raoul whispered.

"Yeah… Something HUGE is up ahead…"

"… Hmmm… So! You have come to try to take it back… How foolish! Don't you know that I have no weaknesses? You'll be burnt to black ashes and cinders… But if you still dare to then come on and witness… The treasure I possess!" A voice rang out from further ahead.

"What?" Thunder Man seemed to frown.

"Hah! No use playing innocent. Who else would dare to come into my territory? Only a treasure-hunter like you would! Well then! Show me your flesh… I'll treat you to my Hellish flames!"

"Who are you?" Raoul demanded.

"Smaug the Magnificent!"

A gigantic red-colored dragon suddenly loomed over Thunder Man while spreading his wings wide and looking amused: Thunder Man gasped and stepped back.

"W-where did this thing come out from?" He gasped.

"The "Witch - Queen of Angmar" granted me life! And I shall defend this area from intruders! My armor of incrusted jewels is impossible to penetrate or damage and so is my skin!" He proclaimed.

"Hell. This is bad." Raoul cursed.

"Destroy them, Smaug!" The voice of "Witch - Queen of Angmar" rang out from nowhere in particular.

"Get ready! Hra~h!" He opened the mouth and began to inhale.

"Chance! Mega Energy Bomb, Slot In!" Raoul gasped.

"Have at you!"

Thunder Man threw the "Mega Energy Bomb" inside of Smaug's mouth and it suddenly exploded thus taking out his body from the inside: he roared and made the ground shake before he collapsed and began to be deleted.

"NO WAY!" The villain yelled.

"Over there! Elec Beam!"

"Kyah! How dare you, plebeian!"

"I dare."

Thunder Man detected her location and shot an attack at her to knock her off the air and into the ground: she groaned and managed to stand up as Thunder Man loomed over her.

"Fu-ru-ru-ru! Happy Clap!"

"What! Ugh!"

"Hah! Caught ya!"

"Good timing, Circus Man!"

"The Mistress commanded of me to defend the Underground 2 deepest spot: but the scandal worried me so I hurried over, Mistress!"

"I'll commend your intelligence."

"I am honored! Fu-ru-ru!"

Circus Man's gigantic armless hands formed and clapped to trap Thunder Man between them: Circus Man then made a reverence in front of the woman who sounded satisfied.

"Delete them! I've got other businesses to take care of." The woman commanded.

"Roger! Fu-ru-ru! Gloom Pinch!"

"Oh damn!" Thunder Man cursed.

Circus Man became the tent which dropped down atop Thunder Man and sounds of a scuffle rang out inside of it: the woman fled but she was suddenly tackled off the air by someone and driven into the ground: a scuffle rang out while dust built up around them but the sound of a "Tank Cannon" rang out and someone groaned as the woman warped out of the area.

"Damn! So close!" Someone hissed.

"Oi! Are you an ally? Lend me some help, will you!"

"Sure. Charge Shot!"

"Kyu~h! Who goes there! Huh! Rock Man!"

"Wrong."

"What?"

"Shirakami."

"Shirakami? Who the heck?"

Shirakami turned out to be a Navi who looked strikingly similar to Rock Man yet his color palette had purple instead of navy blue, the drawings on his chest emblem were colored in a bluish color instead.

His eyes' irises were blood red yet he looked calm and collected: he could be taller than Rock Man by one or two centimeters too.

"You don't need to know. Where did you Boss go to?"

"Fu-ru-ru! Ya don't need to know either!" He shot back.

"Talk will be quick. Who's in Graveyard 2? There's a link further in."

"Fu-ru-ru! Element Man!"

"Element Man, huh. Thunder Man. You'd better stay off that guy. He can switch to Wood Element." He warned.

"Are you supposed to be an ally? Rock Man never talked about you."

"… No surprise. But I'm not interested into all-out war."

"Then it's settled. Tackle this guy, Thunder Man!" Raoul commanded.

"Roger!"

"Here… Full Recovery Sub Chip… Use it wisely!"

"Thanks."

"Ops, ops! Sorry for the hold-up!"

"You're Ground Man? You're pretty late."

"Man! I had to finish a request: fix up the "Shachihoko Castle" server!"

Ground Man came in and apologized as he faced Circus Man: he seemed to lose confidence.

"Ya were in Cyber City! Rock Man could transform into ya!"

"Oh yeah! Sure he did! And now I'm gonna run ya over. There's nothing I can't excavate! Get ready, clown!" He laughed.

"Thunder Man! Stand as backup!" Raoul commanded.

Shirakami hurried ahead and stepped into a Warp Panel to Graveyard 2: Element Man was right in front of him and he had twitch on his right eye.

"KUKARIKU KURA~H!" He yelled.

"… "Damn you!" … Yeah. Lame. Repetitive. Meaningless. Over-used. Doesn't impress me anymore…" Shirakami aimed a purple-colored "Rock Buster" at him.

Element Man formed two tornadoes in a rush but Shirakami dodged them.

"Let's go. Come!" Shirakami taunted.

Element Man switched to wood mode and formed Woody Towers across the grass field which Shirakami easily dodged.

"… Gotcha. Hell's Burner 3, Triple Slot – In. Program Advance. Wide Burner! And given you current mode you get double damage plus damage from being hit with a flame attack in a grass field: you lose 1200 HP of 1700 HP!" He formed a smug smile.

Shirakami bathed the field in flames and Element Man shrieked in agony while Shirakami wasted no time in preparing something else.

"Hmpf… _The end_. Mega Cannon, Triple Slot In! Program Advance! Giga Cannon 3!"

He hit Element Man with the Program Advance and he shrieked as he was deleted: Shirakami quickly ran on ahead and found a large cache of "Dark Chips" accumulated in boxes.

"Gotcha. The cache. Say bye-bye." He muttered.

"Not so fast, evil-doer! Judgment Press!"

"Hell. Area Steal!"

Shirakami warped just as a book dropped down from above and Judge Man landed into the area while having his electrical whip drawn: the thing was frizzling with electricity.

"Judge Man… So Dive Man and Blast Man are somewhere close by too or did you come alone?" He demanded.

"Hum! I need not the backup of such imbeciles! They can handle lesser tasks like spreading into the areas surrounding Central Town! Our power is extending!" Judge Man exclaimed.

"Who is that woman?" He questioned.

"Dare not defile the Mistress! She shall see it to it that you are given proper punishment!" He exclaimed.

"I just busted Element Man with two Program Advances and in 2 Turns so what makes you think you can fare better than him?"

"I don't care! Element Man was a savage! But I am civilized! And today I sentence you to the gallows, Rock Man!"

"Sure, sure. But let's settle something: I ain't Rock Man. I'm Shirakami and you better remember my name, Judge Man."

"Hah! Judgment…!"

"Slow. Wave Arm 3, Triple Slot In. Program Advance. Power Wave."

"What! Ugra~h!"

"600 HP less for you, Judge Man."

"Such villainy!" Judge Man came up with an old-fashioned curse.

"Villainy? Well. Yeah. We cooperated with Dr. Regal. But that was because we got influenced by the _Star Wars_ movies. A little experiment. Now go codfish." He dully replied.

"Eat this!"

Judge Man tried to hit him with the whip but Shirakami dodged with ease and hit him with an "Air Shot" Battle Chip thus momentarily stunning him: he formed a smug smile.

"Program Advance. Count Bomb 3, Triple Slot in. Giga Count Bomb. Its normal power is 700 points yet given how I scored a "Counter Hit" it gets doubled to 1400 HP. Say farewell." He dully announced.

"Impossible… Mistress!"

"3… 2… 1… 0. Detonation." Shirakami counted down.

"Muwra~gh!"

"Go to the Graveyard and never awaken again." He signaled him with the right hand's middle finger.

"MISTRESS! MUWRO~H!"

"Hmpf… That power is something… Look-alike…" A voice scorned.

"_Partner_? No, wait… Oh heck." He cursed.

"You'll be my entertainment…!"

"Original Forte. Heck. I thought you were gonna stay in the Nebula Hole Area!" Shirakami cursed.

"What "Original"? I am the only one in the Cyber World!" "Original" Forte exclaimed as he showed up while having his cloak hid his body.

"Oh yeah? Ever heard of "Gospel"? In fact you have it inside of your body, you know." Shirakami dully told him.

"A clown of mine is left out there, you lowlife mean to say?"

"Yeah. And you can't use this stuff over here now that your body has permanent antibodies." Shirakami told him.

"I'm the one who decides that… I'll absorb you lowlifes' power!"

"My bad. But I'm on a rush. See ya."

"Wait there, you lowlife!"

Shirakami warped out of the area and "Original Forte" hissed something under his breath while looking angered.

"Nobody laughs at my face and lives to tell it! Nobody! I'll delete each and all of you lowlifes and absorb your power to become the strongest Navi in the Cyber World! Nothing will stop me!" He growled while being clearly pissed off.

BEEP – BEEP – BEE~P!

Two short beeps followed by a pitchy and flat beep rang out before a Giga Count Bomb set in the middle of the cache blew up and destroyed the whole of it: "Original Forte" growled.

"Fuck. I'm off!"

He fled the area while "Witch-Queen of Angmar" looked on.

"Damn them! We've lost this area too… But given how I can use the real world then… In the worst-case scenario I can flee there and bid my time until they forget me and I can start anew…! I'll strike at them from the real world and they'll be unable to counter from there! I'll drag in those useless masses as deterrent…! And then they shall bow to my will or this nation shall be annihilated! My Lord's power shall not be scorned and laughed upon! Just you wait! Foolish rebels! I shall root out each and every one of you!" She cursed.

_My anger shall be terrible to witness! They will pay for their foolishness!_


	10. Chapter 10: Intriguing duel

**Chapter 10: Intriguing duel**

18:43 PM (Japan Time), Monday August the 9th…

"… Hum. So we had to yield on the Reverse Internet yet we've secured the Underground and Immortal Area plus destroyed one of their main caches of "Dark Chips"… That's something."

"Yeah. But things are getting uglier."

Barrel was listening to a report by Dark Miyabi and was rubbing his chin as usual: he looked preoccupied with the tidings.

"Yet we should be glad Thunder Man defeated that dragon program: it could've been dangerous later on."

"It'd seem Copy Forte and Shirakami are indeed seeking the unmasking of the "Witch - Queen" but I'm wary of trusting them too quickly. It could be a highly elaborated deceit for all we know."

"True. I wasn't intending to grant them trust yet."

"You should warn Hikari Netto about that: he looks easy to deceive in my opinion." Dark Miyabi warned.

"I know." Barrel calmly replied.

"Call me if you need something else. I'm going to the mountains for this evening. I need some time to cool down."

"Fine."

Dark Miyabi came out and Barrel then glanced around while lifting his eyebrows as if he was being suspicious of something.

"… Come out." He ordered.

"Yikes!"

"Ookuda. So there you were."

"N-nope! A passer-by spirit! Good night!"

"Don't try to run off. I need to talk about the hologram thing."

"Oh heck."

Ookuda came out of hiding behind some boxes and looked pale as Barrel strode across the room and seized his shirt's neck to direct a hostile and angered glare at him: Ookuda's teeth began to dance and he also sweated as he tried to avoid eye contact.

"That wasn't funny. At all."

"W-well… But…"

"No buts. It was of a very bad taste. In fact, some prosecutor could come and say this was a death threat. We don't look lightly on death threats made to government employees, Ookuda." Barrely warned.

"M-mercy!" He pleaded.

"No. Your database management skills are just run-of-the-mill and you in fact copy other programs to do the job for you. You're not a devoted worker and I'll see to it that you go try to sell your lame tricks elsewhere: if not become a comedian." He icily told him.

"There you are~!" Meijin roared as he rushed in.

"Wait, Meijin. I'll handle this."

"Good! Make sure this guy get show the way out: Hikari – hakase agrees on firing him!" Meijin exclaimed.

"Sure. Here, the way out."

"Grah! Let go of me!" Ookuda cursed.

"No. There's no "oh, it was a joke. Nothing happened" chance anymore: you've crossed the borderline." Barrel replied.

He dragged Ookuda out into the main entrance and shoved him outside before locking the sliding door: Ookuda banged on the glass but both played deaf and returned into the Command Room: they sighed in relief and Barrel then spotted someone sitting on a chair.

"Kanou Shade."

"Do excuse me." He apologized as he stood up and took of the hat and sunglasses thus revealing blue-colored irises and his brown hair.

"What have you found out?"

"Our subject bought the cybernetic material from a usual dealer online and had it delivered to an old locale which had been closed down ten months ago. I directed the investigations there yet all access logs had been deleted: they've sealed up the place in the meanwhile and set a surveillance alarm. Truly disgusting. It makes me remember all too much of IQ's methods. Yet I eliminated the possibility that she was an agent trained by her." He detailed with a scowl.

"But she could've been trying to find power for that tyrant and was taken in by Nebula Grey who saw a useful pawn on her." Barrel calmly suggested back.

"Ah. It is a possibility indeed." He admitted.

"Jeez. What a scary talk." Meijin grumbled.

"Warning. Intruder alert. Intruder alert. Warning."

"What? Who's there, Gate Man?"

"Well…"

"Enemy detected, de a~ru… Starting surfacing, de a~ru…"

"Dive Man." Barrel grumbled.

"The submarine-model guy?" Meijin recalled.

"Same one."

"Hooray! My turn to shine came! Oi! Submarine jerk! I'm gonna chop ya out with my tomahawk! My _kami – sama_ told me!"

"New enemy detected, de a~ru… Ready tubes 1 & 2, de a~ru…"

"Oi! Did ya listen? I'm Tomahawk Man! And I'm gonna beat ya!"

"Tomahawk Man of Sky Town." Barrel introduced.

He turned on the monitor behind him and displayed live feed of the Science Labs' HP where a Navi was facing Dive Man.

"Oh yeah! That's me! Oi, gramps! Bring it on!"

"De a~ru… Mission: sink the enemy frigate, de a~ru… Ready for immersion, de a~ru…"

Tomahawk Man was a Net Navi shaped like a native Ameroupe Indian and who struck as being slightly over a meter and sixty tall.

His head's helmet had a red piece over the forehead which also extended downwards until the star of the nose with two white patterns facing opposite directions having a drawing reminiscent of the Alphabet "P" letter set on it.

Two small extensions ran down the sides of his head and they looked like a Native Ameroupean's hair decoration colored white, orange and red: a larger hair decoration piece with the same color combination spread left and right of his head.

His face had two red triangles painted on the lower edge of his cheeks and aiming towards the center of it: his eyes' irises were brown and he had a youthful face.

His upper body was protected by armor colored in an azure coloring: his emblem was a silver hawk's silhouette set against a black background and having a silver edge.

His shoulders were spheroids using the same color palette: his short arms without elbows and having black "skin" emerged from them: armor covered the wrist and forearms with yellow discs set on the wrists at the start of them: his right forearm had a large tomahawk built into it as explicitly stating why he was named _Tomahawk_ Man to begin with.

He had a thin azure belt around the waist and one piece of armor protecting the legs until the start of the knees: it was shaped like a rectangle aiming downwards: the edges were colored brown and a brown "X" letter was drawn on the center of it and set against an azure background.

The armor over the legs, starting just below the knees, was colored azure as well and it had a curious design: the outer edges had three brown rectangles a small pyramid aiming south drawn into them plus a thin line running down vertically along its length.

His feet were simple brown pieces with the end of the leg armor (which, when seen side from the side, looked like a rectangle with a triangle aiming south) fusing with them midway across their length.

"Hikari Netto met him and Rock Man has the "Tomahawk Cross" installed on him yet I believe I'd rather introduce you to him." Barrel calmly explained to them.

"He looks powerful."

"Sure thing! Sorry for the wait, Barrel – san! I'm Dingo!"

Dingo rushed in with a grin and carrying a real tomahawk with him: Meijin looked curious and Kanou Shade formed a smile: Barrel merely nodded to acknowledge his entrance and focused on the fight.

"Smart Missile!"

"Totem – sama! Invincible Mode! Tomahawk Swing!"

"De a~ru…"

"That was a 120 point attack! So he loses 120 but still has 1380 HP left: we gotta work hard!" Dingo announced.

"Yeah! Tomahawk Air Raid!"

"120 damage again! 1260 HP left…! Go, Tomahawk Man!"

"Totem – sama! Meteors!"

Meteors rained down into the field and some hit Dive Man who didn't seem to be impressed.

"Heh! Each meteor has a base power of 100 and 5 hit him so he's lost 500 HP! 760 HP left!" Dingo grinned.

"De a~ru… Tidal Wave!"

"Hah! I've got "Super Armor" and I won't flinch! Totem – sama: recovery mode! Tomahawk Rolling! 240 points of damage! 520 HP left!"

"De a~ru… Leakage confirmed in starboard side…"

"Heh! This guy is so weak, really!"

"For you. But not for a normal Navi." Barrel warned.

"Aw man! Don't take the fun outta me!"

"Tomahawk Swing! Hah! 400 HP left… How's that?"

"De a~ru… Dark Chip, Dark Meteors!"

"Oh hell! Dodge, Tomahawk Man!"

"Greah! My own grass field is proving my undoing! I feel 400 HP of damage per each meteor plus my weakness to fire! You wanna meteors I'll give ya meteors! Totem – sama~!" He growled.

"De a~ru… Smart Missile…! DE A~RU!"

Dive Man had been about to shoot his "Smart Missiles" when the totem bombarded him with four meteors in a row and he was deleted: Tomahawk Man collapsed into his knees while panting.

"Too close…! Grah…! I've lost 1600 of my total 2000 HP…! Damn! Sorry, _Danna_… I messed it up!" He groaned.

"You're not to blame. That guy knew who he was going to face and came prepared… That woman must've been doing some background research into us…" Barrel grumbled.

"Undoubtedly. Damned woman." Kanou Shade hissed.

"So. Can I count on you to find out anything else?"

"I'll check on a certain place… I have a contact."

"Good. I don't care how you get the info: just tell us when you've gathered enough of it." Barrel told him.

"Acknowledged…"

18:54 PM (Japan Time)…

"… What? Big Bro is going around there and still obsessed with becoming the strongest Navi on the world? Jeez! Someone should set that guy's head straight already! That Serenade guy, for example!"

"Guess so."

"Ah! Here you are! De masu! Broom fight, de masu! I draw the Straw HY, de masu!"

"Oho. Higure Yamitarou. We were expecting cha, _Danna_. Alright. Shi – chan, bring me the Straw Excalibur, will you?"

"I hate that nickname. I really do."

"Yeah, yeah. Tell it to the bird in the honor seat."

"Grfjtx. Fine!"

Copy Forte had been mumbling aloud when Shirakami brought him news inside of a locale turned into a Battle Chip store decorated with posters of Battle Chip images: Higure suddenly came in while brandishing a broom as if it was his _katakana_ and he'd changed into _yukata_ clothing too as if to set himself in the role: Copy Forte grinned at Shirakami who didn't seem to like the nickname at all but did hand him a broom.

"Alright, _Danna_. First one to hit the other's forehead wins."

"De masu! That's the ancient rule passed down for generations!"

"Ancient rule… Stop kidding me." Shirakami groaned with obvious skepticism at the whole thing.

"Yo!"

"Huh? Wha! Y-you're…!"

"Yeah. Me. It's been a while, eh? Huh? What's Higure – san doing with that broom? What's going on?"

"Some kind of _samurai_ duel parody… Netto – kun. I'm surprised you came to visit us."

"Well… I wanted to bury the enmity…"

Netto had come inside of the store to Shirakami's surprise but the other two paid no heed given how they were swinging their brooms around like mad: Netto looked surprised and Shirakami was skeptical.

"But I'll NEVER place even one foot, get me, inside of your Satanic rocket of blue blistering barnacles! NEVER!" Copy Forte exclaimed.

"De masu~! No – one shall make Higureya crumble! I'll fight to the end, de masu! Right, Number Man! De masu!"

"I do think, Yamitarou, that this whole thing is becoming rather pointless and parodied." Number Man complained.

"Join the club." Shirakami sarcastically told him.

"Delighted!"

"Man." Netto mumbled.

"So! Going alone into danger again, Netto – kun? Trying to play the cool guy will get you into trouble and… Shirakami! What are you doing to Netto – kun!"

"Eh? What? Me? Nothing! He came on his own! Right, Number Man!"

"Indeed, Rock Man! He came alone yet he's watching on Yamitarou playing the imbecile."

"HUH? What the heck are they doing?"

"A broom duel, de masu! Do not get in the way, de masu! Higureya's pride is at stake, de masu!"

Rock Man had come into the store and looked wary of Shirakami: he gasped and defended himself with the backing up of Number Man yet he forgot them and his jaw hit the floor when he saw the fight between Copy Forte and Higure.

"This is… ridiculous." He groaned.

"Welcome to the club." Number Man sarcastically told him.

"Count me in too." Netto muttered.

"Well. 4 to begin with…" Shirakami muttered.

"This is the store you guys opened?" Rock Man looked around.

"Yeah. All bought in a neat manner. Heck, this district is nice and all but Higureya is 45 minutes from here. This place is 10 minutes from the center of this district and there are other shops around too. We're doing them a favor: we've had 15 customers already in the first day. They seem to think we're _otaku_ guys." Shirakami explained.

"Ah. So that's why they don't mind you too much. Well… Can't say it's a bad thing…" Rock Man muttered.

"See: we even asked an ONBA guy to drop by and he approved of the whole thing." Shirakami added.

"So that of March…?"

"I know! We were trying to imitate _Star Wars_."

"Well. If that's it then I might let it slip… You have a point in the aspect that you didn't hurt us." Rock Man muttered.

"We won't force you to decide." Shirakami lifted his hands as if to prove he wasn't hiding anything.

"DE MASU~! Flying Striking Rallying Attacking Broom!"

"What the heck?" The four skeptical guys uttered.

"Ascending Descending Swinging Broom!"

"They're trying to invent "cool" names like in _manga_ series? How lame, really!" Shirakami groaned.

"Totally."

"Intriguing, gentlemen."

"Wha! Kanou – san!"

"Cha came too, _Danna_?"

Kanou Shade had popped out and looked amused at the show those two were producing.

"DE MASU~! Concentrating Mystifying Rolling Advancing Broom!"

"Ending Exploding Breaking Broom!"

"How pathetic." Number Man grumbled.

"On the contrary: how original." Kanou Shade sarcastically replied.

"Lovely." Netto muttered.

"Totally." Rock Man looked annoyed by now.

"YA~H! DE MASU~! Raiding Destroying Broom!"

"Finishing Battling Broom!"

"DE MASU~! I got hit in the forehead…! I lost…! I must close Higureya and go into exile…! De masu…!"

"Oi, oi… I never said any of that, _Danna_…"

"Someone snap him outta that!" Number Man growled.

"Allow me."

Kanou Shade walked over to Higure who was on his fours and hanging his head down in shame: he crouched and whispered something to him: Higure suddenly stood up and looked energetic.

"True, de masu~! Akihara Town's spirits protect Higureya! No _tsunami_ or earthquake will be able to harm it, de masu! My reputation is saved, de masu! You guys do all you want but you'll always be a pale imitator of Higureya! De masu~!"

He ran off to everyone's surprise and Kanou Shade grinned.

"I just told him he's got 20 online orders waiting to be delivered. _Good luck_, gentlemen. Maybe an enigmatic spirit will guide you."

He walked out while chuckling to the surprise of the remaining four guys: things were turning crazy in this city…


	11. Chapter 11: Secrets

**Chapter 11: Secrets**

21:58 PM (Japan Time), Monday August the 9th…

"… Well! That sure was a weird thing."

"Sure… Higure – san battling Copy Forte with a broom. And what's more: making up weird names out of nowhere…"

"Higure – san must've seen too many _sengoku_ dramas."

"No doubt…"

"Anyway… I'll go help cleanse the kitchen."

"I'll get ready to hit he bed."

"Set up the alarm clock at 9 AM tomorrow. We've been told to come to a meeting at 10 AM, Netto – kun."

"Roger, roger…"

Rock Man and Netto had gotten back home and couldn't help but comment upon what they had just seen: both looked surprised but then shoved the thing away: Rock Man came out of the room while Netto searched inside of his backpack.

"Rock Man would be mad at me if he knew but I just couldn't help it: I'm curious." He muttered.

He took out a large envelope colored brown with the words "Don't try to sneak peek these, Forte" handwritten with a green marker on its front side and in _katakana_: he then headed for the bathroom and locked the door as he sat on a stool and checked the envelope from several angles as if trying to guess the contents.

"It was forgotten in a corner of their customer restroom so I guess he won't notice I picked these… Maybe they're brainstorming drafts and they might be about crazy things? Copy Forte would try to make them happen and Shirakami would feel guilty at having come up with them… But maybe there are some bright ideas here which he doesn't want Copy Forte to know of…" He guessed.

Gulping, he opened the upper part of it and extracted several pieces of what felt like printed photographs inside of it: they were all covered with a very thin black piece of plastic as if to hide them.

"Photos? Maybe he's an _anime otaku_ but doesn't want Copy Forte to guess what they are…" He muttered.

He placed them on a pile and picked the first one: all blood left his face and his jaw hit the floor.

"W-what the hell is this!" He uttered.

The photo was something totally unexpected: it showed Netto standing in a bleak concrete room in a posing manner and having no clothes on: his eyes looked calm and collected.

"3D modeling…? It can't be that Shirakami is trying to image me naked… Or he _did_ see me naked during those 3 days I was KO after the gas assault on the Science Labs…" He grumbled.

He picked the next photo and gasped upon spotting how his body now had several things on it.

They were a black leather collar with a metallic ring in the front set around his neck, followed by two thin bands of black leather running down the sides of his body from the neck and having adjustable height.

These circled around his shoulders and ran down through the inner side of his legs thus passing parallel to his penis and ending beneath his sack.

There also were two metallic bracelets on his wrists, two thick bands around his hips and another two small round leather pieces around his ankles.

"What's with this outfit? It exposes me further and yet… It gives off a weird image of me. It gives off a weird vibe, really. From where he got the idea, I wonder…" He frowned.

The next one displayed him having a black wool blindfold covering his eyes and one black leather band with a red plastic spheroid which was filled with small holes covering his mouth.

His arms had been placed behind his back and aiming in different directions: a rope ran down from the collar's ring and stretched until the waist.

Another two ropes were set over and below the elbows to immobilize his upper torso and the collar's ring also had a metallic chain on it.

"B-but…! What does all this mean? Imprisoning? No… Humiliation or perversion, then…?" He sounded afraid by now.

The next photo showed how black leather bands had been set around his balls and the base of his penis: two clothes pegs made of brown wood and having a small weight attached to their ends had been clipped on his nipples too.

"This is turning stranger with each photo."

Switching again, he spotted new changes: four small pink-colored capsule-like objects had been strapped with cello-tape to below and above his nipples and they had wires running down until they met some kind of rectangular remotes strapped to his hips: a small greenish ring could be seen popping out of his urethra.

"I've got a bad feeling but… I wanna continue…!"

Another photograph showed a bell-shaped pink-colored piece of plastic set around his cock's head covering it and having a wire connecting it to a remote too.

A metal bar had been set on his ankles and kept his legs spread open plus a total of eight clothes pegs had been attached to his balls on either side of the dividing central leather band.

"Torture? Is this some form of torture?"

The angle of the photos now changed to show how his insides had some plastic spheroids colored white stuffed inside of them with a ring at the end of them.

"E-even there…! How more pervert can this thing become? I'm feeling very nervous… But why?"

He noticed how only two photos were left after this one: the penultimate one added what looked like a black silicone imitation of a penis filled with dots around it into his insides.

"Two things there…! And all those clothes pegs…! And what are those pink things? I'm scared… I'm scared…! But… I feel weird down here too… Guess I need to discharge…" Netto muttered.

His penis had gotten hard and it was bulging against the fabric of his boxers: trembling, he picked the last photo which showed Shirakami standing beside him holding the chain and using his right hand to caress his jaw: he had a look of lust and evil to his face plus a sinister smile drawn across it.

"Ugh! I can't believe I've suddenly…? Huh? This… feels different… What's going on?" He suddenly muttered.

He pulled down his shorts and spotted a stain on the inner side of his boxers which was growing: he pulled them down too and gasped upon seeing some white stuff dripping out of his still-hard penis.

"What's this thing? It's the first time my penis does something else instead of the usual thing…" He muttered.

He picked some paper and cleansed it off before disposing of it: he then placed the photos back inside and closed the envelope: he snuck into the bedroom and checked around before storing them again on his backpack and then brought the right hand to his chin.

_Maybe those are wild fantasies of the guy? Yet… There was something on the guy's face… I can't pick it out but I feel like he was looking at me with more than just eagerness or victory… I'll have a talk with him but I gotta find a way to shake off Saito – niisan. Maybe if I say that I want to see the back-store I can slip off while Copy Forte shows him around the place…? _

He quickly picked his pajamas, changed while keeping the boxers on and saved up the shorts and vest plus the bandana while he tossed the socks and shirt into the cleansing basket.

"… As always… I appreciate your help, Saito. Dear."

"Please, Mama… I want to feel helpful. I'm still a Net Navi. I'm supposed to help out. I wouldn't bear standing there and doing nothing."

"Good night!"

"Good night, Mama!"

Netto heard him climb up the stairs and he came inside while humming a tune: he removed the helmet and let his hair out.

"Good. Now I can feel like Hikari Saito. So, Netto. I hope you don't try to imitate Higure – san in that of the broom."

"O-of course not, Saito – niisan…" He showed him his open hands.

"You look up to something… A prank on Dekao – kun?"

"W-well… More or less…"

"Jeez. Can't you come with something far more intelligent?"

"D-dunno… I'm not good at puns… You always came up with them!"

"Hmmm… Well then… Lift a rift into rift a lift!" He grinned.

"W-well… Wasn't that bad, really…"

"Heh, heh, heh. I'm good at these too. I just heard from Meijin – san that Ookuda – san got fired for his incompetency. So I'm gonna replace him and make it look like it's a program he left behind."

"HUH? Eh… Are you sure you don't have a glitch in you?"

"Could be, yeah. I now feel like pulling a prank. Oh! The 66th Legion!"

"No way!"

Netto ran to the balcony and looked out but Saito grinned and pulled his ears from behind: Netto yelped and Saito let go.

"Gotcha~…" He giggled.

"Jeez. I prefer you serious!"

"Too bad. Tonight's not your lucky night, Netto~!"

22:39 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Yo! Shi – chan! I got an idea!"

"One: enough nicknames, Forte. Two: what's it about?"

"Easy! We paint the doorway of that woman's hideout black: she'll believe that it's open and crash upon the door!"

"You ripped that off _Pepe Gotera & Otilio_… Those small works by Francisco Ibañez in which Otilio the handyman always screws it up and his boss Pepe Gotera ends up being on the receiving end of his clients' wrath."

"Heh, heh, heh. There's no catching ya with the guard down, eh? What did ya think of my mighty duel with the _Danna_?"

"You call that "mighty"? Don't make me laugh."

"Man. You're so skeptical. It's not fun."

"Being skeptical and untrusting of pranks is the best way to move around because you can spot what's true and what ain't true."

"Lecturer Man showed up?"

"Hah, hah. How vain."

"Ya sound like a poet, mind ya."

"That guy back on our… nation… contaminated you with his lame sense of humor. Didn't the guy?"

"Guess so, Shi – chan!"

"SHIRAKAMI!"

"Shira – chan!"

"SHIRAKAMI!"

"Shiraka – chan."

"SHIRAKAMI, I SAY!"

"Shirakami – chan."

"Erase that girly suffix!"

"I heard that some people name Killer Man Erase Man instead 'cause it sounds less "scary"…"

"That gotta be some crappy censoring going by pointless criteria. Heck, I've heard people call Napalm Man "Moltanic" Man because napalm is a taboo word given what happened with that thing in the Vietnam War. Some people won't admit the reality. And he's named like that because he uses incendiary weapons to begin with."

Copy Forte and Shirakami were discussing inside of their closed store and Shirakami had a totally pissed off face while Copy Forte had a permanent grin on his face.

"That face would scare the vilest of thugs away."

"Oh yeah? I rather think a demonstration that I ain't a cosplaying _otaku_ will be enough." He shot back.

"So!"

"So what?"

"Are ya gonna propose to Hikari?"

"WHAT?" He roared.

"Or are you gonna go though the express way instead?" Copy Forte asked next in an exaggerated hushed conspiracy tone.

"DON'T SCREW ME~!" Shirakami roared.

He ran off in a huff and slammed a door on his way out: Copy Forte scratched the back of his helmet.

"Guess I overdid it. For that guy Hikari means a lot and I guess he doesn't take it lightly. Man. That prankster in our nation sure contaminated me with his style." He muttered.

He tiptoed towards a door labeled "SHIRAKAMI" and knocked it on it but only a growl rang out.

"I'm sorry, really! I didn't…!"

"DON'T SCREW ME~!"

"Man. He'll be like that the whole night. Tomorrow he won't even say "hi" to me, I guess…" He muttered.

He turned away and walked out when a cry rang out and Shirakami suddenly ran off his room and turned right on the corridor.

"Forgot the donuts?" He wondered aloud.

He headed for his door next and stepped inside of a room having a small bed, a desk and a laptop plus a "Copy Roid" charging machine built on the north wall: a grayish/brownish tunic with a hood was hanging from a perch at the right of it too.

"MY PHOTOS! MY PHOTOS! MY PHOTOS!" Shirakami yelled as he ran past his room.

"His photos? The Nagoya trip photos?" He wondered.

"FORTE! YOU LOWLIFE! MY PHOTOS! HAND THEM BACK!" He began to punch and kick his door.

"I don't have them, really! And what's this fuss over the Nagoya trip photos anyway?" Forte asked.

"NO, NOT THE NAGOYA ONES! MY ENVELOPE!"

"Oh? That envelope with that warning on it, ya mean? I saw it on the customers' restroom's shelf under the spare paper but I didn't think it was the same one…" He replied.

Shirakami ran off and Copy Forte frowned.

"I'd never seen him so freaked out." He muttered.

"NO! THEY WEREN'T THERE! WHERE ELSE COULD THEY BE AT?"

"Huh… The back-store?" He suggested next.

"GRAH! DAMN IT!"

"Again, I don't see the reason for this fuss… Luckily the walls are thick and we won't be bothering the neighbors." He shrugged.

He picked a pair of wires from the machine and connected them to the central part of the "Copy Roid" to recharge it as he climbed into the bed and pulled the blankets over him: he heard Shirakami roaring and slamming his room's door shut.

_Those photos sure must be important to him if he's going so crazy about this… Maybe because of my earlier joke too…? Man. I really need to hold back on these things…_

"… It couldn't be… No, no way… It can't be… Impossible…" Shirakami could be heard muttering aloud in the next room.

_Ops. I forgot to close that old ventilation shaft communicating both rooms, it'd seem… I'll have to set my mind to it or else each one's privacy will be ruined._

"… I went there around 5 PM… The others came a bit later… Did any of them go to the restroom? He did… But… I don't see him as the type to do something like this… Argh! What a dilemma! I can see that I'll soon get into trouble… I shouldn't have printed those but…! Grah! What am I gonna do? I'm in trouble!" Shirakami could be heard uttering next.

_What? Hikari picked that and snuck it out? Oi, Shirakami… You're not gonna tell me those photos are about "stuff"… if Hikari sees them then he's surely gonna get afraid and avoid us… Damn it. I now see why he was so concerned about them._

"… No, I can't call him just like this… And they must be sleeping by now plus tomorrow they'll be in the Science Labs… Maybe I could slip inside as a visitor and wait for a chance to confront him… But I mustn't look hostile at all or else they'll misunderstand the whole thing… Grah! He'll most likely hate me for thinking of such perverted things!" Shirakami's voice began to get louder.

_Aw man. It looked like we could set that of March behind for a little while and now this goes and screws it up. Totally._

"Dam it! Damn it! Damn it!"

"Oi, Shirakami! Cool it down!" Copy Forte called out.

"… You didn't seal the duct! Lazy jerk!" He growled.

"Well! My bad! But you should try resting: maybe you'll see things more clearly after some good rest!" Copy Forte suggested.

"Grfjxt!" He growled back.

"Come on! Be reasonable!"

"YOU be reasonable, jerk!"

"Look: are we gonna start a war or what? Cool it down: try talking to him and apologizing! Admit that you have crazy ideas!" Copy Forte called back to him.

"I decide what I do! I ain't your puppet, Forte!" Shirakami yelled back with obvious pride.

"That's pride speaking!" Copy Forte fumed.

"Pride and whatever! I'm done for! They're going to make mincemeat of me! YOU keep this store thing: I need to go to the most remote place in the world to escape their wrath!" Shirakami snapped.

"Come on… They won't go to such ends! They don't like fighting for nothing! You of all people should know that: Rock Man always tries to find a way around!" Copy Forte tried to animate him.

"Shut up, shut up! SHUT UP!"

"Oh man. He's going hysterical again and there'll be no calming down him until tomorrow. How lovely! Almost like Morgoroth had sent his agents to spread lies around us and make us be untrusting of each other!"

He sighed in defeat and leant his head backwards while trying to ignore the scandal Shirakami formed by banging all furniture.

_We gotta find a solution to this or Hell will break loose. Damn. And things were starting to go nicely…!_


	12. Chapter 12: Arachnid fear

**Chapter 12: Arachnid fear**

10:04 AM (Japan Time), Tuesday August the 10th…

"… I've got some ugly news. The enemy has not rested tonight and has come up with something new to block our progresses along the areas which they hold…"

"And what's it about, Mr. Barrel?"

"Wait, Ijuuin Enzan… Before that… Ahem, ahem! Who here is afraid of arachnids?"

"Me."

"Jasmine. Well. You're out."

"Why?"

"Wasn't my question a sufficient hint?"

"No way…"

The "Liberation Team" members and the Operators of the backup Navis had been summoned to the Science Labs' command room where Barrel asked a question out of Jasmine: he sighed and everyone let out groans of annoyance.

"It's true! I checked it out!" Dingo exclaimed.

"Cobwebs and spiders: a lot of them!" Tomahawk Man cursed.

"But they're weak to flame attacks so… Napalm Man's power will come in handy. Each spider has around 1500 HP so if we hit them with enough flame attacks we should be able to clear a way through them."

"Then I'll keep company to Sakurai. I brought her along because I thought this was a safer place." Jasmine shrugged.

"Do it."

"Roger!"

"Get ready, everyone."

"Master. We shall fight together again." Dark Kirisaki told Dark Miyabi.

"True. Get ready." He merely replied.

"So, Netto! I hadn't seen ya ever since June. Ya look fine!"

"Same thing to you, Dingo." Netto grinned.

"Chit-chat later. Work-time." Barrel commanded.

"Plug – In! Transmission!"

The Navis gathered in the Science Labs' Home Page and Barrel used a holographic screen to speak with them.

"The whole Reverse Internet is filled with those things. And there's something which has sucked up all electricity in Reverse Internet 4: the area is wholly pitch-black. We must get there." He briefed.

"Roger!"

"Be careful."

The group stepped into a shortcut leading out into End Area 5 and they immediately spotted a cobweb barring the road leading towards the Reverse Internet: a big ugly grey-haired spider about two meters tall and one wide was crawling across it while having four red eyes scanning the area: it emitted a pitchy shriek and leapt towards the ground: Killer Man and Shadow Man quickly cut off its legs while Knight Man's "Royal Wrecking Ball" hit the underside and knocked it into the ground.

"Good! 900 HP of damage!" Knight Man exclaimed.

"Napalm Bomb!"

The monster was set in fire and the cobweb was deleted alongside it: everyone sighed in relief.

"Phew! That was an ugly spider." Rock Man muttered.

"Sure thing…" Netto grumbled.

"Let's go!" Blues rallied.

"Oi, Netto – kun… You've got a visitor. He says it's urgent." Meijin rushed inside of the command room.

"Well. I'll load some Chips into Rock Man's RAM so that he can use plus the Napalm Soul… Sorry, Rock Man. I'll be back ASAP."

"Don't worry, Netto – kun. If we all keep united then we'll soon be done with these." Rock Man relieved him.

"Let's see… Flame Sword, Heat Dragon, Hell's Burner, Element Sword and I'll use a Flame Punch as "sacrifice" for the Napalm Soul… Activate! Napalm Soul! OK! All set! I'll be back ASAP!" Netto muttered as he selected them from a menu before smiling and running off.

"The sensors show me that there 4 of them in Reverse Internet 1. Split into 6 pairs and pick them off." Barrel commanded.

"Roger!"

Netto came out into the foyer and spotted someone standing next to the restrooms' corridor who wore a black sleeveless shirt, jeans, white sneakers and a navy blue cap which was lowered.

The visitor appealed as being just four or five centimeters taller than Netto and around his age: he was currently leaning his back against the wall and having both hands stuffed on his pockets.

"Uh… Hi? Did you call for me?"

The visitor suddenly grabbed his right wrist and dragged him along in a rush into a bathroom stall where he closed the door and looked up to reveal that he had sunglasses on.

"Return them!" He ordered in a hushed tone.

"Return… What?" Netto asked.

"The envelope!" He instructed.

"S-Shi…!" Netto gasped.

"Chut!"

"S-sorry, I got curious and…"

"You're not gonna tell me you saw what was inside!" He hissed in a pretty pissed off tone of voice.

"W-well… Yeah, but…"

"You hate me, right? Just give me the envelope and I'll be gone from your life forever! I'm off into exile!" He commanded.

"N-no! Wait a min! There's something I wanna know… What's the white stuff? You know it?"

"W-what?" He gasped.

"W-when I was looking at those my penis got hard and instead of the usual stuff a white stuff came out…"

"No way…!" He sounded dumbfounded.

"So you don't know?"

"I do! But I couldn't have expected you to get excited at seeing those photos!" He sounded annoyed.

"W-well… I did… So, what's the white stuff? Why had I never seen it before? Why didn't anyone tell me?" Netto asked.

"'Cause you get told that sometime in middle school…! But I don't want to hurt your innocence so I won't say anything. Give me the envelope: I wanna go back already!" He grumbled.

"I wanna know!"

"I can't tell you. Ask Rock Man!"

"But I think that he won't tell me… And I'm ashamed of having to ask Papa or Mama…" Netto insisted.

"Then bid your time! They'll tell you that in middle school!"

"I'm too impatient! I wanna know now!" Netto wasn't giving up.

"Look it up on Google!" He snapped.

"But I'm afraid of leaving a trail behind…"

"Erase the browser history! It ain't like Rock Man is monitoring your browser each day, right!" Shirakami was pretty annoyed by now.

"W-well…"

"I don't want to force you: be nice already and give me the envelope! Or are you intending on becoming the villain and blackmailing me?"

"B-blackmail…? I dunno what that is."

"Give – them – to – me!" He whispered.

"Tell me what the white stuff is!"

"Grah! Semen!" He growled.

"Semen?" Netto wondered.

"There: you can now go to Wikipedia and check it out!"

"B-but what's will that outfit you put on me in the photos? You wanna humiliate me?" Netto asked.

"You're better off not knowing! Give them to me! If not you'll get into a pinch with Rock man!" Shirakami pressed.

"A-alright!"

Netto opened his backpack and handed the envelope to Shirakami yet he suddenly picked his right wrist to stop him from running off.

"Don't leave. I'll come to the store later on. I wanna…"

"No! My mind's settled! And Forte won't tell you anything! We've got some morale! Farewell!"

Shirakami pinched Netto's wrist and he let go in instinct so Shirakami opened the door of the stall and ran off like man: Netto moaned and looked disappointed.

"What can be so bad about that? Guess I'll have to research on it without Rock Man getting a hold of it…" He wondered.

Shrugging he returned to the Command Room and spotted Rock Man and Tomahawk Man striking down another spider somewhere in the Reverse internet 3 close to the ramp leading to Reverse Internet 4: the spider and the cobweb got deleted while they rushed up the ramp.

"The source of the blackness is far ahead. I can't get any sensory data even… I've got no idea of what it is. I'm going to give you a program to restore power to the area first thing so that you can at least get an idea of what the hell is there." Barrel ordered.

"Roger!"

"Who was the visitor?" Enzan asked.

"Dekao. Coming at the worst possible time and demanding a rematch claiming that he had a "wonder weapon"… It turned out to be a crappy Tank Cannon that a Reverse Internet guy had sold to him for a bargain price and which broke apart upon firing." Netto improvised.

"Hmpf… Ooyama and his ape-brain…" He formed a smug smile.

"Jeez! Don't badmouth Dekao – kun! He ain't a bad guy!" Rock Man complained through Netto's PET.

"Alright… Installation complete! Be careful!"

"Roger!"

The Navis stepped on ahead and each one hit the floor to expose the raw circuitry boards: they generated bluish orbs of energy which travelled along the area and managed to bring some very dim lighting in some spots of it.

"Bad news, guys. There seem to be obstacles impeding the full flow of the electricity through the area… And some kind of cap has been set so it only can work at 10% power…" Meijin replied.

"Someone wants to play with suspense." Laika muttered.

"I can pick up a large energy signature up ahead… And it's growing at the same time the current power decreases!" Search Man warned.

"So it's not that there's a cap: something sucks up all energy to grow bigger!" Blues hissed.

"Napalm Bomb!"

The bomb hit the center of the area and started a vicious fire which set fire to some thick and large cobwebs: as the fire's intensity grew so did the flames: a sound began to ring out around them.

"Careful. It's gotta be the biggest of them all." Slash Man warned.

"Kyah, hah, hah, hah! Let them come! I wanna kill them!"

"Napalm Bomb! Napalm Bomb!"

More bombs helped increase the lighting radius while each Navi generated a field of energy and light around them spanning about one meter of width: the enemy was still out of sight though.

"Shadow Man." Dark Miyabi called out.

"It's always trying to keep away from my 10 meter wide radar, My Master… But the last contact indicated that it's crawling towards the entrance… They might be trying to come up on us as we reach the _cul-de-sac _at the end of the area…" Shadow Man reported.

"Hah! No spiders will beat me. I'll ground them!" Ground Man exclaimed as he swung his fists around.

"Hah! That's a good pun!" Dotarou laughed.

"Split off, watch your backs, shoot attacks every five seconds." Barrel instructed them.

"Lighting is now up to 35% thanks to the flames."

"Still very poor…" Netto muttered.

"Royal Wrecking Ball!"

Knight Man whipped around and shot towards the still impenetrable blackness in the direction of the entrance: something made a sound and a large shriek rang out echoing in the area.

"Hit! They're over there!"

"Go! Slash Man!" Phacki Faran commanded.

"Rolling Slasher!"

Slash Man turned into the spinning form he had and shot into the blackness: he rammed into something and was pushed back yet a loud THUD sound rang out as if something heavy had fallen into the ground all of a sudden.

"That thing's big and heavy!" He reported.

"Gotta be bigger than those spiders…" Dingo cursed.

"Wait a minute… Could those spiders be the Mirkwood spiders as in _The Hobbit_…? Something bigger than those spiders… Oh no!" Pride suddenly gasped.

"Damn." Barrel seemed to have realized it too.

"What, what?" Everyone else asked.

"S-Shelob! The giant spider Shelob dwelling in the Cirith Ungol tunnel, the vilest of all spiders in Middle-Earth…!" Pride exclaimed.

"What!" They all gasped.

"Extremely poisonous… It always comes up from behind or above… Its skin is extremely thick!" Pride warned.

"But nothing beats fire! Let's try increasing the power again: now that we've stunned it the thing might be unable to impede us!" Nenji rallied as if being inspired.

"Good idea! Go!" Barrel authorized.

The Navis fed the circuitry boards with electricity and lighting began to increase as the background came back up: they then looked around but found no trace of the spider: there was a crater where it'd fallen after Slash Man had rammed into it but that was all.

"Weird." Nenji frowned.

"Where it'd go to?" Dingo wondered.

"Above! It'll come from above!" Pride warned.

"Blues! Watch out!"

"Wha!"

Napalm Soul Rock Man suddenly tackled Blues out of the way as a large shadow was drawn above him: something heavy fell down in a blur with a loud CRASH and emitted a shriek: the thing was cloaked in a mantle of blackness as if protecting it from the lighting.

"Damn it! Go, Napalm Man!"

"Napalm Bomb!"

The bomb met is target and the thing was set on flames yet its blackness seemed to grow in size and blot out all flames.

"What! That should've delivered 480 HP of damage… And yet the thing behaves like it was nothing! Super Armor?" Napalm Man gasped before making a guess.

"Heat Dragon! Flame Sword! 280 plus 280 makes 560… That should accumulate about 1040 HP of damage!" Blues growled.

"Damn monster! Totem – sama! Meteors! 100 per meteor: 5 in a row! 10000 HP of damage to this thing! That should kill it off! Go, Totem – sama!" Tomahawk Man exclaimed.

Five meteors rained down yet the blackness only seemed to grow stronger: they began to notice how the power was failing again and they gasped.

"Damn! We were forgetting about its ability to suck on power… But… We've delivered about 2040 HP of damage yet it's still alive! How many HP does that thing have? And Rock Man is trapped beneath it! We must lure it away!" Blues cursed.

"Black Bomb! Hell's Burner! 500 HP of damage: 2540 HP!" Slash Man exclaimed as he performed a combo.

"Hell's Burner 3! 300 HP of damage!" Ground Man exclaimed.

"Fire Punch 3! 360 HP of damage! Total: 3200 HP of damage! Damn! It has 4000 HP max or what?" Shadow Man cursed.

"Shooting Star Shower! 40 per meteor… Total 30! 1200 HP of damage yet the weakness to flame turns this into 2400 HP! The final blow!" Blues announced.

The meteors rained down on the thing and it shrieked as the blackness around it diminished and energy burst out of the blackness dispelling it and revealing a huge spider-like shape which was being deleted: with one last horrific shriek it vanished and lighting returned to normal.

"We did it…! Somehow! That was a strong enemy!"

"R-Rock Man… Rock Man ain't there!" Netto gasped.

"WHAT!"

All Navis rushed to the spot and indeed spotted how Rock Man was gone and on his place a black rose had been left: Enzan and Barrel formed a grimace upon seeing it.

"Black rose! The "Witch - Queen of Angmar"…! That's the signature she put in the letter to Hinoken!" Enzan cursed.

"She took profit of the blackness and maybe by having the thing shield her she's taken Rock Man away somewhere! Damn her!" Barrel hissed.

"What are we waiting for? Search Man! The access logs!" Laika commanded to him.

"Roger, Laika – sama…! No good, sir…! The logs merely say two programs came out through an "Expressway" and headed for "Angband" wherever that place is at!" Search Man reported while making a grimace.

"There's no such place! That was Morgoroth's fortress! It had countless underground tunnels and pits…!" Pride made a grimace.

"Damn them…! Rock Man…! Rock Man! ROCK MA~N!" Netto yelled in despair.


	13. Chapter 13: Within a foul dungeon

**Chapter 13: Within a foul dungeon**

11:44 AM (Japan Time), Tuesday August the 10th…

"… Ugh… Huh… Where am I…?"

"Angband."

"You!"

"Yeah. Me."

"W-what have you done to my body?"

"Hmpf… I've just set you up."

"Set me up?"

"Ah. So you don't know what "S&M" is about?"

"Huh? Don't you mean "H&M", the clothing store?"

"No, no. Not such vain things… This is an art! I'm going to destroy your manhood and turn you into my personal plaything… You'll bow to me, a Queen! You'll bow to me and only me!"

"You're mad!"

"Mad? Hah. And what was the Inquisition then?"

"I dunno what that is."

"Whatever."

Rock Man awoke to discover that he was standing in the midst of a largely unlit stone room somewhere in the Cyber World: he had been set with the same stuff Netto had on Shirakami's photos yet his eyes and mouth were not covered while his wrists had been locked together by the armlets and a chain hung from the ceiling forcing him to keep his arms vertical and aiming for the ceiling: the "Witch-Queen of Angmar" was standing in front of him while having a black plastic tool which had a cylindrical base and a narrow main body which ended in a trapeze aiming downwards.

"I'm going to drive you mad."

"Drive me mad?" Rock Man made a grimace.

"Yeah… I'll pick out each and every one of your weak spots and drive you crazy by denying to you the most important thing."

"What?" Rock Man frowned.

"Ah! Could it be…? So you haven't experience the "awakening" yet? My, my… That's intriguing. Your pink friend was already advanced on it for her age… It was amusing." She giggled.

"Damn! You want to torture me like you did with Roll – chan? What do you want? Info? Codes? Secrets?"

"None of that. To see you struggle in vain!"

"You're a sadist!"

"I'm the "Mistress" and you're the "Slave"… That's what "S&M" means to begin with!" She laughed.

She suddenly moved behind him and blindfolded him while adding that spheroid in front of his mouth.

"I know Net Navis don't drool but on humans this has the effect of having them be continuously drooling…" She giggled.

She then moved to the front and began to swing that tool around to hit Rock Man's nipples but she especially focused on his hard penis and on his tightened balls: Rock Man didn't seem to pay attention to those.

"Hah. So you try to resist because you're used to pain from all the battles you've gone through? Useless! This was mere _heating up_… The real stuff is about to start but let's make it slow, escalating and agonic…"

She interacted with the devices strapped to Rock Man's hips and pulled a lever in one of them up: the pink capsules strapped beneath and above his left nipple began to emit a buzz sound and vibrate: he began to react differently and try to swing his body around but an iron ball had been connected to his right ankle to impede him from running away.

"No use. Next."

She pulled up the other device's lever and the devices on his right nipple began to buzz next: Rock Man's penis got hard and rigid and she began to hit it with the tool to make it swing left and right.

"I'm going to punish this extension." She announced.

She kept on hitting it and Rock Man was now feeling the pain indeed given his muffled cries: she then giggled and activated the third device to make the head of Rock Man's penis be tormented by the vibrations.

"Between the bands tightening on the base and the plastic beads which extend inside of your extension until the very start of the conduct you're unable to release. This is the greatest torment a man can be given and it's about to get worse." She announced.

She headed behind Rock Man and turned on the penis-shaped device stuffed on his insides: Rock Man began to struggle again and he unwillingly began to suck in the bead stuffed there too.

"There… You'll be slowly pulling those up and bringing up further agony to you! I must admit that you tackling your companion out of the way and letting Shelob fall atop you was unexpected but I made good use of its "blackness cloak" and its size to pick you up and Shelob infected you with a paralyzing program… Did you think I'd really settle myself in those places which you already know of and that you'd eventually seize? No! I have built an underground fortress far away… Angaband! Where the Great Enemy Melkor the Valar dwelt for centuries uncounted for… And from where no – one ever came out! Your doom is to struggling and suffering without end! But repeating the same thing would be boring so I'll use exquisite devices here to drive you to the edge of madness! And when you're broken and defeat the "Dark Power" shall creep inside of you and turn you into a Nazgûl!" She laughed.

She picked an armchair and sat down there while holding the tool and watching Rock Man's struggling: she brought up a holographic screen and inputted some commands into it.

"Let's check on the areas." She muttered in a dull tone of voice as if nothing else of interest was going on.

"Mistress! Magic Man reporting, my Lady. The Graveyard area is still under our control. My comrades Fire Man and Colored Man are along with us too…" Magic Man reported.

"Fine."

"Oi, Magic Man! Trouble!" Fire Man rushed into the scene.

"What?" Magic Man asked-

"Those guys! They're breaking through all the defenses and are terribly pissed off!" He reported.

"Oh no!"

"We're in trouble~!" Colored Man yelled.

"Do your duties. Delete all info on this channel."

"Your will!"

"Hmpf. You won't find anything there yet I was expecting you lowlifes to move into that area anyway… An army of high-powered Viruses lurks there anyway…" The villain muttered as she snapped her right hand's thumb and index finger while inside of the sleeve.

"Freeze Man reporting from Black Earth… All nominal… The Cut Man armies are patrolling the surrounding areas." Freeze Man reported next with a reverence.

"Good enough. Delete all records of me once this communication is done for!" She ordered of him.

"Roger, Mistress!"

"Next! Beast Man from Reverse Square…" The woman calmly muttered as she snapped her fingers again-

"The situation is good. The Square is ours, Mistress! No – one has dared to oppose us yet. Huh? Who's there?" He suddenly gasped and looked to the left.

"Killer Beam!"

"Ugryah!"

"Not so good there. Communications program, delete all records of this line and self-destroy afterwards." She didn't seem to be impressed.

She then stood up and headed out of the room while shutting the door: Rock Man was still struggling when a figure suddenly showed up of nowhere and drew a Long Sword which cut the chain keeping him standing plus the lock on the bracelets: Rock Man collapsed into the ground and the figure vanished out of sight: he quickly pulled out the cap set over his penis' head, loosened the band and pulled out the azure beads by the ring popping out of his urethra: he arched backwards and released with several strong spouts before collapsing from obvious tiredness: the savior showed up again.

"History keeps on repeating…! Damn them!"

The savior turned out to be Kanou Shade's Navi who began to take out all of the stuff on Rock Man and provisionally covered him with a robe as they headed for the left wall and into a black rectangular opening: they vanished from the room just as the woman came back in and she gasped in disbelief.

"IMPOSSIBLE!" She yelled.

She began to look around and examine the area as if trying to find out what had happened: she spotted the broken armlets lock and the shattered chain.

"Sword? But who…? The shell! That man! Kanou Shade! He got here somehow and robbed me of my triumph! Damn him! I'll send assassins after his neck: I'll have that guy's head on a silver platter! And I'll have to erase this room so that they can't use the same coordinates to come back here… Damn him!" She cursed.

She quickly moved from spot to spot and made some unseen objects become raw data and be warped out of the room before she set a Giga Count Bomb Program Advance in the midst of it.

_Countdown, 10 seconds! I'll remember this!_

12: 18 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Netto. At least eat a cookie."

"No, Papa…"

"I insist. Eat it. You'll feel better."

"… Alright…"

Netto was sitting on the sofa Yuuichirou had on his labs for the visits and looked totally depressed: Yuuichirou was trying to have him eat one of four cookies set on a dish but Netto looked like he didn't have appetite at all, for once.

"Damn it! Why did this have to happen…? Who knows what's happening to Saito – niisan by now…? How can we save him…?"

"Netto. Don't blame him or yourself. We couldn't have foreseen this: Rock Man was trying to protect Blues." Yuuichirou told him.

"Excuse me."

Kanou Shade rushed inside while looking out of breath, to their mutual surprise, and handed Yuuichirou his black and golden PET: he gasped and looked on the screen.

"R-Rock Man!"

"What!"

"I found him. Yet I'm afraid I got there too late." He sighed and sounded defeated, even.

"What happened? Like…?" Netto asked.

"True, yet… He was subject to a cruel torture. His mind and body have been driven to the edge. There'll be further sequels this time around I'm afraid." He admitted.

"Damn woman!" Netto growled.

"Quick!"

Yuuichirou connected the PET to the main computer and began an analysis of the unconscious Rock Man: Netto frowned upon seeing the temporary brownish/greenish robe he had on.

"Why did you give him that? Didn't he have his bodysuit on? And what are those white stains on his face?" Netto asked.

"That is…" He seemed to be hesitating.

"… I see." Yuuichirou icily muttered.

Netto frowned and didn't seem to understand anything yet he suddenly seemed to remember something and gasped.

"Eh… Papa… It might be a bad spot to ask, but… Are those white stains - eh - "semen"…?" Netto timidly asked.

"… Yeah. Correct. And don't be ashamed to ask. I guess he's been forced to release by some sexual torture method… They've forcefully stimulated his body…" Yuuichirou grumbled.

"B-but… In March, when he shed the bodysuit to reveal his real form, he didn't…"

"That's because I programmed it to be obscured out were that circumstance to happen…" Yuuichirou replied.

"A-ah… Well… T-then… Kanou – san! Where's their hideout?"

"I don't think the same coordinates will work twice. I decided to check a Norway server because Tolkien got largely inspired from Nordic myths to draw his myths and because Angband was on the north-east of Middle-Earth before the shape of its western side was changed by the fight of the Valar with Melkor and sunk into the ocean…" He admitted.

"Norway! No wonder we couldn't find them…" Netto growled.

"Yet I believe that they'll erase that room and move up the addresses and location of the other rooms and pieces of the set. And the whole thing was concealed under an enterprise's reserve servers… The enterprise is named Life Safe Inc…" Kanou Shade explained.

"I'm trying to calculate the scale of the damage… But I think that just blocking it won't do this time around… It's been engraved within him and I've found something which worries me… Fear. He's built up a lot of fear and I'm afraid he'll be trying to blame himself… We need something to encourage him… Maybe Ijuuin – kun and Blues will do…"

"Yeah… Maybe if we make a Net Battle with Blues he'll try to stand up and not deceive Blues… He wouldn't like to disappoint him." Netto slowly nodded in agreement.

"I'm not sure how much time he spent suffering but it had to be about 5 to 6 minutes and anything above that is critical. I could've made it earlier and it wouldn't have been hard to knock that woman from behind yet the defenses were harder to crack than what I'd believed they'd be."

"No. You did the important thing, Mr. Shade."

"Ah… Thank you very much, Hikari – hakase… I apologize for changing the subject, but might I have a cookie? I've been running up and down the whole morning." He politely requested.

"Of course. Go ahead."

"Thank you very much."

He picked a cookie and began to eat it while Netto sat down on the sofa while sighing: he suddenly stood up and walked over to Kanou Shade while looking nervous.

"Eh… Kanou – san… There's a little something I'd like to ask but I'm not sure if I should…" He timidly began.

"What is it?"

"W-was Rock Man… tied up with black leather bands and had a lot of weird stuff on him…?" He asked in a whisper.

"He did. Yet I'm surprised you knew."

"W-well… That's because I accidentally saw some 3D models Shirakami had made of me like that so I thought that…" He timidly admitted.

"Well. That might be his personal fantasy. Yet I don't see him as the type of person to do that to you, Mr. Hikari Netto…"

"No, in fact… He came to take them back but wouldn't elucidate on what they meant… He claimed he was going into self-exile because he thinks I must hate him… That sounded a lot like Rock Man, but given how he's created from Rock Man's heart then…" He whispered next.

"That won't be good. He must've gotten hysterical. Maybe he'll cool down and think it twice… But the reason why I now feel compelled to bring down that woman is because she's starting to look like the "Ice Queen" and her dread and terror… I can't let such a blood-stained history repeat itself…" He admitted.

"I know…"

"… Uh-unh… Papa…? Where am I…? What happened to the battle in the Reverse Undernet?"

"Rock Man! You're awake!" Netto tried to look animated and hide his worries.

Yuuichirou made some discreet signs to Netto so he nodded and Netto stretched.

"Well… You got knocked out by the spider thing but between everyone's powers we deleted it. Man! That thing sure had around 4000 HP or even more! It took a lot of power to bring it down!"

"Huh… Well… All "SP" or Omega versions of strong enemies are always tough to bring down…" Rock Man muttered.

"How do you feel?" Yuuichirou asked.

"Hum… My back aches a bit but it's no wonder… It fell right atop me after all… How silly of me."

"No, no! You were defending your friend. It's perfectly natural. Well, we've also "released" the "Graveyard" so we've made progress yet we're not any closer to their main base… Let's make a lunch break. I'm coming home to have lunch." Yuuichirou smiled.

"Whoa! Mama will be glad! Huh? Mr. Shade?" He spotted him standing behind Netto.

"I dropped by to report on how to strike the "Graveyard"… And I found Mr. Rompetechos around there."

"Who's that?" Netto asked.

"A character by Spanish comic book author Francisco Ibañez… The name literally means "Ceiling-breaker" or "Limit-breaker"… He's a terribly short sighted man who always mistakes thing and to make it worse he also sometimes misunderstands what's going on so he tends to get into pinches…" He described.

"Hum… So that gentleman is a humor comic book creator?"

"One of the most popular ones. His main series is over 50 years yet it keeps on being a success… Now, if you shall excuse me… I shall be on my way. Good luck, gentlemen."

"Thanks, Kanou – san!"

Kanou Shade smiled and came out of the room while Yuuichirou picked Netto's PET and transferred Rock Man there: he also gave Netto a note he'd scribbled which Netto read.

_It'd seem Saito somehow had the strength to lock up those memories on his own and such he doesn't seem to remember what happened or its sequels… We'll tell the others to keep the act up. Make sure to act like nothing happened._

"I suspect there'll spaghetti with meatballs."

"Heh, heh, heh! Nobody beats Mama's spaghetti with meatballs!"

"Count on me to give a hand." Rock Man offered.

"Sure! Let's go meet Spaghetti Man and Meatball Man!"

Netto laughed at his improved joke, Yuuichirou smiled and Rock Man looked skeptical of the whole thing to begin with yet in the end he also formed a smile…


	14. Chapter 14: Unending struggle

**Chapter 14: Unending struggle**

16:49 PM (Japan Time), Tuesday August the 10th…

"… Are you really going, Shirakami?"

"I told you: it's the only solution. They won't blame you. I'm to blame. I must assume responsibility."

"But did Hikari really say he hated you?"

"Of course not! He was being nosy!"

"He wanted to know what the whole thing meant, huh? No wonder. Any guy would."

"There. I'm going to the north. Hokkaido. Maybe I'll contact you but don't expect me to ever return. Hokkaido's an island. It fits well with me for an exile place yet it ain't too far either."

"O~i~! Is someone gonna tend to the customers?"

"Coming!"

Copy Forte had been seeing how Shirakami had packed his four or five belongings in a suitcase and announced his plans: Shirakami looked annoyed and stubborn while Copy Forte was obviously concerned about him: someone called out from the front and Copy Forte headed for the counter.

"Sorry for the… Hikari! Rock Man!"

"I dunno why but Netto – kun said he had to come."

"Is Shirakami still there?"

"You got here just in time: the guy's really going to Hokkaido. Maybe you can set some sense into him."

Copy Forte was surprised to see Netto and Rock Man coming into the store: Rock Man looked somewhat puzzled while Netto looked like he'd come running and he was sweating: he had a worried feeling to his face and Copy Forte signaled the corridor.

"Oi! Shirakami! Hold it! We need to talk!"

"Don't pity me."

"Jeez! Be serious! I'm serious!"

"No. You're not, Hikari Netto."

"Listen to me! I've talked with Kanou – san and now I understand what this thing is about so…"

"You hate me."

"Man! Don't cut me off!"

Netto rushed into the room but Shirakami didn't bother to turn around: his gaze was lowered and hid by the cap and he looked annoyed: Netto was trying to reason with him but he kept on cutting him.

"Look at a person when talking! Where's your honor?"

"I have none. Never had, never will have." He shot back.

"Come on! Listen to me: niisan got tortured by that woman yet he managed to overcome the sequels… I understand now that it isn't a funny business but I don't mind if that's just your wild imagination. But don't go: there's no need to! You're a nice guy, you do care for me! You were gonna go away for my sake, but… I say it again! Don't go." Netto insisted.

"I'm going." He merely replied as he picked the suitcase.

"But that's meaningless! Can't you see that this must be what the enemy wishes? Strife between us?"

"And who was the one who kept on stirring up your hatred and rage not even half a year ago? How can you be so easy-going?"

"Because it's not good to hold grudges! Listen, Shirakami… You two started this store, right? If one of you leaves then the store will lose its soul, its meaning! It's a nice project! Everyone ends up winning! You can't abandon them in such a cold way: what would your fans say?"

"What fans?"

"Heck, Higure – san told me he checked you guys' Facebook page and you've got "55" like marks plus several subscribers! Copy Forte posts all of those French puns there and it's a success!"

"What? I thought everyone would think we're stupid!" He looked up and turned around his time.

"See? You jump to conclusions too quickly! You rush it! You don't think it twice: you get obsessed with an idea and you won't let go of it… You need to expand your horizons!" Netto tried to encourage him.

"Hikari Netto…" He muttered.

"Hey! Don't be so impersonal like Barrel – san. You can call me like Rock Man does too! I don't mind it!" Netto grinned and patted him.

"Sorry to butt in, but he's right, Shirakami. You're starting to become my "Original"…" Copy Forte popped his head into the room.

"Forte…"

"Ahem, ahem! And in the in the meanwhile, Red Rackham, I am getting upset! Insert SFX! Victory! Red Rackham is no more! Yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum!" Copy Forte grinned.

"Oh yeah! That crazy spinning around… How was it in the album?"

"Well, Captain Haddock had happened to be drinking too much whisky while telling the tale and his blood boiled so he spun around his axis to the right and ended up making his ancestor's portrait collapse atop him his face occupying the spot of the Chevalier's face…"

"Oh man! His ancestor sure got annoyed at him after that!"

"Sure thing. I'm going back to the front desk before Rock Man pops in: you better avoid any talk which could annoy or worry him."

"Leave it to me!" Netto grinned.

"… Then… You… really don't hate me?"

"Come on! I don't. End of the tale."

"… What a weird feeling… I feel… relieved?"

Shirakami sat down on the bed while looking somewhat confused and sighing: Netto placed both hands atop his shoulders and grinned at him while blinking him the right eye.

"Cat a mat!" He made up a rhyme.

"Please…" He looked half-amused and half-skeptical.

"Hey, hey… Tell me already… What's "semen"?"

"… You know the little balls there, in the sack? It's produced there and it normally only comes out when you feel excited in body and mind… In fact the main biological reason why it's there is because it carries the "seeds"…" Shirakami whispered.

"Seeds? What for?"

"Jeez. Ain't it obvious? When they go inside of a girl and meet an egg then the egg receives the seed and begins to grown… That's how children are born!" Shirakami replied.

"Whoa. It can do so much…"

"But normally people like to think of something which "turns them on" and allows them to let it come out… Things like those drawings but there are some who want to take it further… And in the end those mindsets of turning one into their slaves and denying them pleasure surface… It's not a nice business. That's what that "Ice Queen" woman did all this time under the cover of the night…" He sighed.

"I see… So that's why you didn't want to tell me…"

"You'd eventually known, anyway…"

"And… hum… can guys…?"

"Stuff their hard penis into the insides of another guy? Yeah. That's how guys do it." He shrugged.

"I see… So that's why in the photos there's stuff there too…"

"You'd better off forgetting those." Shirakami told him.

"I know, I know! Lesson learned!"

"Fine. Leave me alone for a while. I need to think."

Netto came out and closed the door to then head into the front of the shop where Copy Forte was working as the clerk given how there were four or five guys around Netto's age or younger making a queue in front of the counter.

"The purple niisan isn't home today?" A 3rd grade student asked.

"He's feeling ill. His cousin came to visit." He replied.

"How long did it take to make up that?" A 4th grader asked next.

"Hmmm… About a month. It ain't easy."

"No wonder! Niichan looks cool! Are you a middle-school niichan?" A 2nd grade student asked with awe.

"Yeah. This is my part-time job."

"Hey! You look familiar." A 6th grader told Netto.

"Are you sure? I'm not from this district." Netto tried to waltz outta it.

"I've seen cha face somewhere. And the blue-dressed guy… I'm sure I've seen him before too. Man. I can't have been _so_ long ago… Anyone remembers if there's been a tournament this year?" He asked to the others.

"Niichan lives in the Moon or what? The Densan City Tournament happened in January! Then there were the Hawk Tournament! And the Red Sun Tournament! But I was ill by then and I didn't get to see them live: I've seen the DVDs! The winner was a niichan from Akihara Town but I don't remember him too well: I was more focused on the types of strategies they used." The 4th grader grinned.

"Hum… Akihara Town guy… Can't you remember anything else? Like any traits or…"

"Not really… Can anyone else do?"

"Man. That was over half a year ago. Feels forever ago."

"Been too busy playing _The Mysterious Hat_ for the GBA…"

"I've been engrossed in _Fire Red_…"

"Next!" Copy Forte called out.

"Here!" The 4th grader deposited 3 Battle Chips in the counter-

"Hum, hum… Alright. 9500 Z." He announced after scanning their barcodes and inputting them into the register.

"Here!" The 4th grader paid in cash.

"Thanks. Come again, _Danna_. Next!"

"There you are! We've got trouble!"

"What now, Enzan? The enemy is on the move?"

"Yeah! Uruk – Hai of Saruman the White or so Princess Pride called them when seeing them. Some kind of armored ugly jerks which destroy anything on sight and are organized in battalions…"

Enzan suddenly ran in and reported what was happening: Netto and Rock Man were surprised along with the rest of the present persons.

"To all civilians: Plug-Out your Net Navis ASAP! ONBA command!"

"T-this niichan is one of the ONBA! Cool!"

"Hikari, Rock Man! Let's go to the Command Room: we need to organize a sortie!" He told them.

"I knew it! Hikari Netto: the guy who saved the world from that meteor thing!" The 6th grader gasped.

"Sorry. If you wanna a sign come another day. This is serious. I gotta go drive back a whole army."

"B-but then... Oi! Wait! Then that blue guy isn't cosplaying?"

"Nope." Copy Forte immediately replied.

"How do ya know that?" The 6th grader asked.

"… We're buddies." He simply replied.

"Forte! Move it! We gotta give them a hand!" Shirakami yelled.

"You're all done? Good. Sorry. But we gotta send our Navis there and help out: they have high battle potential. Better obey the ONBA guys and stay outta trouble or else you'll regret it." Copy Forte told them.

"Y-yeah. See ya!"

The customers rushed out and Copy Forte lowered the shutter: he turned off all lights and rushed into the back-store space where Shirakami was waiting next to a laptop.

"Let's go! Plug – In! Transmission!"

They appeared in the store's HP and rushed out through the Warp Point into Akihara Town Area 2 which was a wreck: signs of the passing of the enemy army were everywhere and no living thing was left in sight: some "Cyber Crows" were cackling as they flew around the area: the lighting had dimmed a lot too and the whole area looked like a live battlefield given the large amounts of raw data hovering around there.

"Damn. They've already gone through here… Let's hurry!"

"Roger!"

Both rushed along the avenues and found obvious signs of razing through both Akihara Area and Oran Island Area: they headed into the Science Labs Area and found fresh signs: and when they were close to Area 3 they heard the tumult of battle: cries, roars, yells, metal against metal, trumpets, horns, groans, moans, cries of agony, roars and so on: a full-scale battle was happening there.

"There they are! Let's get ready to blow some of them up! Get your Program Advances ready, Shirakami!"

"Yeah! Leave it to me."

"That's as far as you come… Shameful fake! Coward!"

"Oh damn."

Original Forte suddenly appeared in front of them and he looked quite annoyed or, rather, enraged: both halted on their tracks.

"I'll root out this clown which brings shame to me."

"We've got no time! Out of the way, Original!" Copy Forte growled and looked annoyed.

"Our companions are fighting there and we're gonna help them! So step asides, Original Forte!" Shirakami added.

"Silence. Be gone."

"You're being used by that woman, then."

"What woman? That "Witch - Queen" woman?"

"Yeah. She used you. She turned you into her puppet."

"What! So that's why I was in that area then?"

"Yeah. And this is staged by that woman who sees in you a pawn in a chessboard. We're all pawns on her chessboard."

"I'm not a woman's pawn on the chessboard! I'll settle it with that woman now: you lowlifes come later! Hra~h!"

Original Forte rushed on ahead and both sighed in relief.

"Phew. We managed to improve somehow. How are they gonna tell each other apart though?" Shirakami wondered.

"That guy will keep the cloak on and will act upon anger while I'll be pulling pranks." Copy Forte grinned.

"Fine. Let's hurry onwards."

"Roger, Skipper."

"Jeez."

Both rushed in and gasped: the whole area was swarming with the Uruk – Hai soldiers and the defending Navis were all totally encircled: their attacks could destroy many of the enemies in one blow yet the gap was immediately filled: Original Forte could be seen shooting attacks at them and clearing large gaps while roaring in anger: Knight Soul Rock Man came to greet them and his armor had obvious signs of having received a lot of attacks.

"Glad you made it… Where did Original come out from?"

"Dunno. He tried to fight us but we fueled up his grudge by making him realize the witch used the guy…" Copy Forte admitted.

"As you can see the situation's pretty ugly. Pour out all power you need: Gate Man will warp to your position and deliver Full Energy Sub Chips from time to time. He's the supplier. Gotta go tackle that pack there ASAP so… Good luck!" He told them as he ran off.

"Good! C Darkness Overload!"

"OK! Let's go! Program Advance! Mega Cannon, Triple Slot In! Giga Cannon 3! FIRE~!" He exclaimed.

The blast did clear a spot but that only served to bring attention into them and they soon were surrounded: Shirakami drew the Muramasa Blade and began to fight back while Copy Forte produced his Dark Arm Blades: Original Forte was also fighting some tens of meters on ahead by bombarding them with the Hell's Buster.

"Grah! Is there no end to these foul creatures?" Knight Man cursed as he swung the "Royal Wrecking Ball" around him.

"Nyah, hah, hah, hah! Hell's Sickle! Festival! Bloody festival! Lots of diehard bastards to kill today~!"

"Eat this! And this! And this! Shadow Blade!" Shadow Man exclaimed as he swiftly moved around and countered.

"Tomahawk Swing!"

"Napalm Bomb!"

"Rock Man! Program Advance! Iron Shell 3, Triple Slot In! Parallel Shell! Go for it!" Netto backed up.

"Eat this!"

His Program Advance managed to open a pretty big gap which couldn't be closed so he ran towards the spot into which Blues was using his Neo Variable Sword to fend off the enemies.

"Resupplies! Remote Gate!"

Gate Man formed his "Remote Gate", threw the box at Rock Man who caught it and vanished inside just as he was going to be attacked so the enemies actually attacked each other.

"Mura~h! Crush them all!" Ground Man exclaimed as he ran some of them over and drilled through others who tried to leap at him.

"Sei~! Rolling Slasher!" Slash Man yelled.

"Scope Gun! Satellite Ray! Search Grenades! There's no end to them!"

"Barrel – san!" Netto called out.

"… I've been doing some math. Every time the numbers of destroyed units exceeds 500 then 2000 new soldiers join the fray… But they don't come from other Cyber World spots… They're being warped there: all security codes have been changed and I can't contact the Security Chief: that woman must've paid some hackers to do the job for her." He reported.

"Damn it! Then there's no end to them!" Enzan cursed.

"Yet I can trace their signal. They come straight from Sweden. From their HQ: Angband! I've locked into their signatures too… I've contacted some Navis which can help us out… They'll try to find the server generating the enemies and destroy it! A two-front war… This is what it has become!"

"Risky, but… There's no other choice!" Laika formed a grimace.

"I know. This is a decisive spot… Which will be written into history! But we won't lose! Because we fight for the sake of everyone…! We'll assault their fortress… And ruin it!"


	15. Chapter 15: Depths of Angband

**Chapter 15: Depths of Angband**

12:14 PM (Norway Time), Tuesday August the 10th…

"… Round Tornado!"

"Tengu Thrust!"

"Mwah, hah, hah! Dust them all! Scrap Reborn!"

"Crazy Locomotive~!"

"Woody Tower!"

"Fin Cutter!"

"Bone Stalker!"

"Elec Beam!"

"Guts Hammer!"

"Glyde Cannon!"

Several Net Navis were making their way through the bare earth tunnels and pits of "Angband" while wiping out all of the Uruk-Hai soldiers.

"I'm Wind Man of the Hawk Tournament!"

"Hmmm! Tengu Man of Green Town!"

"Dust Man of Seaside Town!"

"Same place's Charge Man!"

"I'm Wood Man! I protect nature!"

"Shark Man won't let the bad guys run away!"

"Heh, heh, heh. Skull Man is going to crush them."

"Hah! Thunder Man fights for justice!"

"Guts! Guts Man will help Rock Man, de guts!"

"Glyde will fulfill the will of Yaito – sama!"

"Grah! Urgh! S-somebody call the Mistress!"

"We're being invaded!"

"Defend the server, you morons!"

"Gra~h! Run for it!"

"Where are the elites when ya need them?"

"Shaddup! Move your legs!"

"It'd seem they are unable to oppose us! Good! I feel an evil power radiating and it's getting stronger! We can't be far from their server! Go, everyone!" Wind Man rallied.

"Hooray~!"

They soon however reached a rotunda from which several tunnels extended and they had some signs yet they were written in some wholly alien scripture system.

"Che. There are 8 tunnels and 9 of us. Someone should remain here and try to check if there's another less obvious way around. They obviously won't make it easy for us to reach their server."

"Nyah, hah, hah, hah! Of course not! What were you fools thinking? I'll turn ya into trash and recycle ya with a clean slash! Spark Man has spoken!"

"Hah! Burner Man – sama is so gonna set them on fire!"

"Swallow Man here is gonna smash them! I'm the freest Navi!"

"Flash Man has been revived from the depths of Hell to annihilate you intruders!"

"Plant Man will suck each bit and byte out of you!"

"Drill Man will drill through you!"

"Heh, heh, heh. Video Man is gonna film this climatic scene and see their faces of anguish and despair…"

"Guo~h… There's no defeating Desert Man…"

"Hmpf! Magnet Man will smash them!"

Eight of the enemy Navis came out of each tunnel while Magnet Man dropped down from a hole which opened in the ceiling.

"Even if you'd reached the server's place there are nine "seals" which will only be released if we're deleted! But this place is too narrow for fighting so let's move it elsewhere… Pick your opponents!" Magnet Man grinned.

Plant Man signaled Guts Man and both of them were warped out with a greenish flash.

"Che. That jerk goes and picks ahead of me… That crappy butler is my prey! Mwah, hah, hah!" Swallow Man grumbled.

"Oh crap!"

"That machine guy, Dust Man, will be drilled by the great me~! Let's go to the battlefield!" Drill Man laughed.

"I'll dust ya!" Dust Man challenged back.

"Flash Man will take on the legendary Tengu Man."

"Hum! Come, evil one!" Tengu Man challenged.

"Burner Man is gonna burn that skull guy." Burner Man grinned and looked at the burner he'd drawn on his forearm.

"Skull Man! Che!" Skull Man complained.

"Desert Man is going to pick that Wood Man jerk…"

"I'm going to turn your desert into a fertile forest! Come!"

"Video Man will fight the white shark! _Action_!"

"Come! You jerk!"

"Spark Man's gonna recycle that steam locomotive!"

"Bring it on, twerp!"

"You're last, Wind Man! You should feel honored for I am Commander-in-Chief of Angband!" Magnet Man exclaimed.

"Whatever! Let's go!"

They were warped away too just as Kanou Shade's Net Navi snuck inside along with another standard Navi colored ice blue and red with grey irises who looked around.

"You heard them, Mr. Grand?"

"Yeah, I heard. Oi! _Aibou_! I guess just attacking the server won't do so we have to go and sabotage it from the inside!" The Navi called out.

"I know, Grand." A youthful voice replied.

"Over here, then."

Kanou Shade's Navi tapped the ground with a Long Sword several times in a pattern as if transmitting a Morse code message and a camouflaged hatch opened in the ground: they jumped inside and fell into a cavern's entrance from where a purplish/pinkish fog flew out.

"Let's go, Mr. Grand!"

"Alright, _Danna_!"

Both rushed down the tunnel and the glow grew in intensity until they found a gigantic cavern easily hundreds of meters tall and wide in which a gigantic metallic dome had been set in the middle of it: it had an hexagon-covered surface and one golden circle with red energy filling it: several antennae protruded from its mass and were emitting signals the whole time non-stop upwards through a large shaft: the whole set was surrounded by a purple-colored energy barrier with nine black "seals" having a name written in each of them.

"SP versions… I guess some of our allies will run into trouble trying to tackle those." Grand's Operator muttered.

"We should hide and look on: once they all fall then we can start the hacking… I'll pick on the antennae…" Kanou Shade's Navi whispered.

They rushed towards a barely lit corner and looking from this angle they spotted a room built hanging from the ceiling and looking directly upon the server machine: two figures could be spotted inside of it.

"Grand! Spy Mike!"

"Roger!"

"Good idea"

Grand shot a small mike which got attached soundlessly to the upper part of the rectangular viewing window and he picked the transmission frequency.

"… I am ashamed. I should've fallen in battle there." Freeze Man could be heard saying.

"No. You have a strong will. You're strong. It was my will. Or are you questioning my will?" "Witch-Queen of Angmar" asked.

"N-no, Mistress!"

"That voice… Freeze Man." Kanou Shade muttered.

"Freeze Man? I think I'd heard the name before… Oh yeah. Gospel's Admin, Freeze Man… Highest-ranked Net Navi…"

"Hmmm? Hmpf… Swallow Man's seal has been broken. It'd seem he's underestimated the opponent. Whatever…"

"The intruders will not succeed, Mistress… I shall…!"

"You stay here! And be quiet. I've got an ace up my sleeve. But I'll save it for the last moment." She snapped.

"R-roger! Your will!"

"Hmpf… Now Burner Man went down. The berserk imbecile… Whatever, let's root out the imbeciles…" She scoffed next.

"Hum… Spark Man failed too… Too big of a mouth…"

"And there goes Flash Man again. Yet he is useful. I could use him again."

"Oh hell. They plan on bugging all Navis again?" Grand's Operator cursed aloud.

"So it'd seem…" Grand muttered.

"And there goes Plant Man. I was expecting him to be the last but he must've gotten annoyed at the type of opponent and didn't try to fight seriously…" The woman didn't sound impressed at all.

"Video Man failed too despite his "playback" ability…"

"Drill Man. Hah. That imbecile had too big of a mouth."

"So either Desert Man or Magnet Man next…! Huh! Desert Man. Magnet Man is proving worth of being the Commander-in-Chief… He must be fighting until his last breath!" Freeze Man gasped.

"Me… Release "it" into Tunnel 01… Yeah. Over." The woman commanded to someone over the radio.

Eight Uruk – Hai formed along with a casket which they carried between them and headed up the corridor: they soon came back down without the casket and operated two controls simultaneously to lower a huge and thick stone doorway and seal the tunnel.

"Phew. Heh. Those guys are up for a nightmare." One of them began to comment with a grin.

"They got it coming! After what they've done to the guard…!"

"Chut. Mistress is looking…!"

"Don't worry! We do our job."

"Yeah! I wonder why it had to be a casket. Guess it's supposed to give off a false thought."

"Anyway! Let's go back to our watch-posts and pick the "Bug Arrows" while Captain Urluk will handle the defense."

"I wanna slice some heads off! Hum!"

"Let's go, lads!"

The eight of them laughed and walked past the server into two doorways built into the northern wall which got sealed up: the barrier around the machine was still standing.

"I'm going into the upper tower. I want to see how the Japan invading force is faring like… You seal up all exit corridors and unleash the SP Viruses to hinder their escape." The woman commanded.

"Your will!"

Both left and Kanou Shade's Navi drew a Vulcan Battle Chip which he used to try to hit the server yet all rounds bounced off.

"No good. Until the last seal isn't released…"

At that moment the seal faded and the barrier fell down: the Navi drew two Long Swords and jumped atop it to begin attacking while also throwing Mega Energy Bombs at some alcoves obviously designed for archers to use so as to defend them: Grand plunged off some of the armor and drew some wires which he connected to him to use his body as a processor.

"Start the hacking!"

"Roger! Hacking started… Access cache memory… Retrieve username and password… Username: admin… Password: admin… How lazy! Current settings: prepare 2000 units in 5 minutes' time… Which means… Hum, hum… 2000 divided 300… 7 units per second approximately… And it's calculated that the defenders can destroy about 500 units in that time which means a ration of 2 per second… Anyway… Transfer capacity is falling by now and it'll soon be unable to transfer more than 400 unites per minute… In fact it's dropped to around 200 by now…" The Operator listed as the sound of rushed typing rang out.

"Good enough."

"GRAWRRRR! GRUOWR!"

"Stay still!"

"Damn! How do we hit that?"

"Oh hell. They've unleashed the "G-Beast" there!" Kanou Shade realized with a scowl.

"… _Ash nazg durbatulûk, ash nazg gimbatul, ash nazg thrakatulûk, agh burzum-ishi krimpatul_…" A voice rang out around the room.

"W-what's that? It sounds like a corruption of German!" Grand gasped and looked around.

"Chut! Maybe it's directed at those behind the door!"

"I can't interpret that wording yet it sounds like German!" Glyde could be heard calling out.

"Transfer ratio: 50 per minute! Another little bit and we'll have halted this machine…!" The Operator reported.

"Hmmm… Here. "One Ring to rule them all. One Ring to find them, One Ring to bring them all and in the "Darkness" bind them"… The inscription upon Sauron's "One Ring"…!" Kanou Shade whispered.

"Yikes! That was Mordor-tongue: a corruption of elven-tongue! No wonder nobody found it funny when Gandalf pronounced them at the Council of Elrond…!" The Operator grimly muttered.

"What's the ratio?"

"Huh! 20 per minute!" The Operator snapped out of it.

"Be slain, mockery of a hero! Hra~h!" Wind Man's voice proclaimed in a commanding tone.

"Grrwra~rgh!"

"All heavy-weighted Navis: blow this doorway!" Wind Man commanded next.

"Roger!"

Attacks began to be made on the barrier while Kanou Shade's Navi spotted how only two antennae were left.

"2 per minute! We're drawing closer!"

"Hrah! One antenna left by now… The ratio must've dropped to 1 per minute! We can then flee through this shaft which must come out into the surface and must then use optic fiber lines to transmit to high speeds without interferences…" Kanou Shade muttered.

"The shielding around the main antenna has fallen! Go!"

"_The end_!"

The Navi sliced the antenna in half and the gigantic server hummed as all brightness dimmed and it became practically pitch-black: a fluorescent crystal spiraling stairway formed atop it and extended up the shaft.

"Emergency stairs! Lucky~!" The Operator sounded relieved.

"Phew! This was one though nut to crack. Good job, _aibou_!" Grand laughed in relief.

"GATTSU~! GUTS PUNCH!"

The doorway finally gave way and the Navis rushed inside: Kanou Shade's Navi waved an ONBA flag to make their side be clear.

"Helpers from the ONBA?" Wind Man asked.

"Yeah! Don't worry about the server. We stopped it and we've placed some terrific programs into its kernel to make sure it can't be started up again! I'm… Hack. This is Grand." The Operator made a pause and seemed to improve the name "Hack" along the way.

"Yo! Good job, guys! Quick, that's our ticket out before the SP Viruses come for our fleshes!" Grand signaled the staircase.

"Dangerous but it's the only way out. Can you lock it on place?" Wind Man requested of "Hack".

"Yeah! I'm using a NSA encryption algorithm… They'll need YEARS to crack it without access to a supercomputer!" "Hack" confirmed.

"Guts! Let's go, de guts!"

"Yeah! Back home!"

The Navis began to quickly escalate the stairway while alarms rang out and Uruk Hair tried to come into the shaft yet all secondary tunnels' emergency lock doors slid down and locked them up: once they'd left the lowest chamber Grand deleted the start of the stair and sealed up the bottom of the shaft: he kept on doing that as they passed each floor to difficult the pursuit.

"I dunno how tall this is supposed to be but I wouldn't be surprised if we end up climbing a whole kilometer!" Grand grumbled.

"It can't be helped, gentlemen."

"… Hello? Can you hear me? Kanou Shade… Barrel…"

"Mr. Barrel. Are you making progress?"

"A lot. Now that they don't get reinforcements we can clean more spots and we can start to corner them: I didn't know you were so good at hacking too."

"No, no. I found a gentleman, Mr. Hack, whose Net Navi Mr. Grand is a specialist of it alongside him: I only removed the physical devices while he handed the kernel part." He admitted.

"Hum. I'd like to meet him one day… That server couldn't have been easy to hack…" Barrel sounded amused.

"We're escaping. Can you try to measure our depth?"

"Current depth… 30m below ground level…"

"30! We're very close then… One last push gentlemen! Another three floors and we'll be greeted by the day's light again! We know that Freeze Man is here yet he doesn't seem to have been able to intercept us either or maybe they're allowing us to go to get confident… I wouldn't be surprised if that woman's already thought of something else!"

"Obviously… Thanks for your help."

"This campaign isn't over yet… Until that woman is dethroned!"

The group kept on climbing up the stairs and headed for the sunlight…


	16. Chapter 16: Nighttime clash

**Chapter 16: Nighttime clash**

20:55 PM (Japan Time), Tuesday August the 10th…

"… Papa… How are Rock Man and the others?"

"None have critical wounds. Yet they're terribly exhausted. They'll need this whole night to recover. Sorry but I prefer to keep him under observation here… Go home, Netto."

"Alright…"

Netto had been looking at how Yuuichirou and other scientists worked on the maintenance of the Navis: he looked tired and about to fall asleep any moment now so Yuuichirou placed both hands on his shoulders and directed a smile at him.

"By the way, Netto… What became of the "Original" Forte?"

"He ran after those two because they'd slipped out earlier: guess he'll be chasing them all around there but can't begin to imagine they're totally outta his reach…" Netto yawned.

"I see. Well… Thanks to the efforts coordinated by Wind Man we struck a serious blow to them and relocated their base. They won't have such an easy time moving it around this time. I guess that the next step is trying to siege it and capture it so that they can't produce any more armies. ONBA Navis have secured the perimeters and have established a cordon so that we can keep an eye out." Yuuichirou looked animated.

"Uh-unh… Night…"

"Wait, Hikari. I'll come with you. Just in case." Enzan suddenly came in while looking serious.

"Don't mind it… I don't feel hungry at all even… I just wanna get home and hit the bed… Fua~h…"

"Heh. That's the Hikari I know." Enzan made a smug smile.

"Yeah, yeah… Let's go already, Mr. Perfect." Netto wasn't in the mood to reply to the sarcasm.

21:14 PM (Japan Time)…

"… I'm home…"

"Netto, dear… You look terrible."

"Can't be helped. We're all beaten from having to defend the Science Labs from that nightmare… Mama… Lemme skip supper… I don't feel hungry at all... Sorry, really…"

"Alright. You can have it as breakfast."

"Roger… Night…"

"Good night, dear."

Netto got home and spoke with Haruka before heading upstairs into his bedroom: he took off his clothes and put his pajamas on before climbing into his bed and pulling the covers over him.

"Hmmm… Warm, warm… Hmmm… It's picking me… Who was that "Grand" guy and his Operator, "Hack"? I dunno why but I've got the feeling I know that guy's voice from somewhere… But I don't remember having met any hackers… Well… Higure – san can be somewhat of a hacker from time to time too…" He muttered.

His PET suddenly rang so he picked it and turned it on to see Enzan onscreen.

"Enzan… Whaddya want now?"

"Have you turned on the surveillance alarms? Do it. I'm sure that that woman could be aiming for you tonight."

"WHAT!"

Netto rushed to the PC and inputted some commands before sighing in relief and looking at the PET: Enzan nodded in approval and cut the call while Netto headed back at his bed.

"Damn it. I won't let that villain do those things to me. I wanna defeat them once and for all!" He cursed.

21:28 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Hmpf… All lights are out… How foolish! The creatures of the "Dark" always ally with "Night" to move… I'll have my fun tonight too. And you can't alter a human's memories so this guy won't be able to run from the nightmares…"

"I won't let you."

"Who the hell!"

"Hah!"

"Ugh!"

"Witch-Queen of Angmar" had been lurking close to the Hikari house and hidden behind some bushes when Shirakami suddenly came out from the right and tackled her: they started to roll down the street and engage each other in a fist showdown: the woman suddenly kicked Shirakami's privates with both legs and he groaned: before he could recover he got kicked on the face too and tossed to the ground: the woman loomed over him while having a Long Sword drawn.

"Die."

"Charge Shot!"

The Charge Shot shattered the sword around the hilt and Shirakami drew a Long Blade to hit her and push her back: the woman cursed something and drew a spear which she threw at Shirakami yet he ducked and the spear missed him by a large margin: he sprung from the ground and tackled her around the neck area thus pushing her into the ground again: the enemy suddenly kicked his chest emblem and Shirakami hissed given how she'd suddenly drawn knife blades from beneath the feet to attack his emblem: Shirakami drew a Guts Punch and hit her invisible face yet he was repelled by something and they split apart.

"What the hell! You have a barrier set in front of your face?"

"Yeah! No – one is allowed to see my face… I am like a "Dementor" and I suck the soul off people!"

"Now you wanna come up with "Harry Potter" rip-offs?"

"Yeah! Eat this! Tank Cannon!"

"Yikes!"

The detonation of the Tank Cannon was loud enough to wake the nearby houses but the woman didn't seem to care given how she was now clashing with Shirakami in a Long Sword duel: Shirakami ducked and tried to hit her tunic yet he was repelled and his sword broke.

"Che. An invisible "Dream Aura"!" He realized.

"Hmpf! Die!"

"You go back to your hole!"

Shirakami drew a "Crescent Moon Kunai" and threw it at the pendant: purplish electricity formed around the woman and her "Dream Aura" became visible while shattering like a mirror: Shirakami tackled her again and tried to hit her face again but he was repelled again and the woman used the hidden blades on her feet soil to hit his knees: Shirakami didn't react to that so she suddenly gripped his neck and pulled him forward while moving upwards thus performing some martial art to shake him off and throw him into the ground as she stood up.

"Che. I'm getting annoyed." Shirakami grumbled.

"Hah. Weak man."

"I ain't weak but I don't intend to raze the whole district by going all out: you're going back to your pits!" He made a grimace.

"You go to the Graveyard! Bug Bomb!"

"Charge Shot!"

The Charge Shot hit the spheroid mid-air and blew it up to the enemy's increasing annoyance.

"Damn you! I'll make you suffer endless torment then!"

"Ah no. You won't! Air Shot!"

"Spread Gun 3!"

Her counterattack hit several spots of the floor around Shirakami but he paid no heed to those and drew a Mega Cannon: the blast hit her and pushed her back: she growled and drew the Super Vulcan next.

"Super Vulcan! Eat this!"

"Dream Aura!"

The rounds bounced back at her but she paid no heed because she switched the Super Vulcan for the Yoyo Battle Chip: she shot it towards Shirakami and it somehow shattered the Dream Aura: Shirakami gasped but quickly leapt into the air.

"Bubble Star 3! Doll Thunder 3!"

"Damn you!"

The combo of bubble plus electricity inflicted major damage to the "Witch – Queen of Angmar" and she looked like she was starting to feel tired: Shirakami aimed the buster at her face.

"Game Over."

"I'll remember this!"

She transferred into a nearby street light and the Copy Roid self-destructed afterwards while the street light frizzled and overloaded thus smoking.

"Hmpf… I'm going back too. I'll tell Blues what happened. I'll call Forte and tell him to stand watch in case she tries to go for Sakurai next." He muttered.

He slipped out without minding the commotion and headed into the unlit streets while always having his Long Blade drawn.

_That woman knows no limits! We gotta stop her before the victims increase…! And I wouldn't be surprised if she tries to get at me too. But I won't let her! You won't catch me so easily, "Witch-Queen of Angmar"! Your master is next on our hit list!_

08:38 AM (Japan Time), Wednesday August the 11th…

"… And regarding the commotion which rang out in Akihara Town yesterday evening the ONBA have released a press communiqué stating that one of their Net Navis was defending the district from an extremely dangerous criminal, the so-called "Witch - Queen of Angmar" who staged yesterday's apparently endless siege of the Science Labs' network. It is recommended that everyone stays indoors and to set up surveillance alarms around the perimeter…"

"How terrible things have become!"

"Yeah, Mama… That's why we're trying to stop them."

Netto and Haruka were looking at the TV news next morning as Netto had the breakfast: Haruka looked terrified while Netto looked like he'd been expecting it.

DING DONG

"Oh! Maybe it's Yuuichirou – san. I'll go."

Haruka headed for the door while Netto finished his breakfast: he suddenly heard Haruka gasp.

"It couldn't be…!"

"Yeah, Mama. It's me. Saito."

"Saito!"

"Wha! Saito – niisan?"

Saito suddenly came in while dressing like a human: he had a blue sleeveless vest over a white t-shirt, jeans, white socks and white sneakers: his hair was neatly combed.

"Papa suggested to me to dress up for the road back to avoid trouble given this night's commotion… But I'm still a Navi, mind you. I just changed looks for a while." He told them with a smile.

"You look better this way, really!"

"Yeah? Well! Guess so. Anyway… We're summoned to the Science Labs, so should we go there?" Saito asked.

"Sure."

"Ah! Wait, wait! Mama, let me help you clean up. The meeting isn't until 10 o'clock so…" Saito seemed to recall.

"Go ahead, dear."

"Heh, heh!"

Netto sat on the sofa and began to shuffle through a _tankobon_ while Saito put on an apron over his clothes to pick the stuff in the table and bring it to the kitchen's sink where he began to cleanse it before slotting it into the washing machine: he used a dishcloth to cleanse the table and then dried it: he was humming a tune while he did that: Haruka was supervising him and looked amused.

"Do you need me to apply the vacuum cleaner too?"

"If it's not much of a bother, dear…"

"Nothing's a bother for me, Mama. I want to feel helpful and responsible for the welfare of the house." Saito quickly replied.

"Then go ahead."

Saito picked the vacuum cleaner from the closet and began to cleanse the ground of the ground floor: he then headed for the first floor and repeated the procedure.

"Saito, dear… It's already 9:25 AM… You should leave now if you want to make it on time! You can always finish it up later!" Haruka called.

"Alright…"

Saito took off the apron and stored the vacuum cleaner: Netto was already standing next to the entrance door and waited for Saito to put on his strap sneakers.

"We're going!"

09:57 AM (Japan Time)…

"… Good. You're all here."

"Huh? Who's that newcomer?"

"Come on, Dingo! You're not gonna tell me you can't recognize Rock Man when he's not wearing the bodysuit."

"Whoa! Y-you look so…"

"Cool?"

"Well… Yeah."

"Ahem, ahem. That goes later."

The "Liberation Team" and the backup team members had come to the meeting and Dingo was surprised upon seeing Saito: Barrel cleared his throat and everyone faced forward again.

"Good. Today we'll travel to Angband and explore it: most of the passageways and corridors are still locked given the hacking by "Hack" and Grand EXE… Thus we should be able to explore without too much trouble: the backup team will remain on standby here in Japan in case something were to happen… Dark Miyabi. You and your disciple tried to get into the Black Earth a while ago. How was it?" Barrel looked at him.

"Empty. We didn't dare to touch the mirrors but using sensor imagery and IR plus X-Ray revealed no-one. They've vacated the area: they could be short on staff to keep it or maybe they want to make us feel confident so we've set some traps there for any Navi who doesn't have the password to be recognized as "friend" by the IFF radar…" He detailed.

"Like Master said… Even the Viruses were lower in quantity: they must've been brought to the fortress to hinder our progress." Dark Kirisaki said.

"I see. Well then, I'll place a guard there. Two will suffice. Huh? What's this scandal mounting up on the outside?" Barrel wondered as he looked up.

"B-Barrel!" Meijin yelled as he came in.

"What's wrong, Meijin?" Barrel asked him while looking surprised at his face.

"T-there's a crowd of reporters who say you're gonna be the guy who'll stand for "Le Chiffre" in the upcoming _Casino Royale _film…! They say someone called "Mr. Shackleton" called all mass media to leak them this piece of news…!" He reported in a rush while the yells of a crowd rang out close by.

"What in the… Me? In a James Bond film? Why would they bother to pick a guy like me?" Barrel frowned.

"Dunno!"

"Shackleton, Shackleton…" Laika lifted his eyebrows.

"I've heard that name somewhere." Pride brought the right hand to her lower chin as if reflecting.

"Tell them Orland Bloom's gonna do it." Barrel commanded.

Meijin ran off and they could hear a tumult of voices who groaned in disappointed at first but then sounded excited: multiple footsteps running away rang out and Meijin came back in while sounding relieved.

"Phew. Shook them off… Who the heck staged for this? It had to be some prankster!" He grumbled.

"Hmmm… Ernest Shackleton, Anglo-Irish polar explorer, established a record for the Farthest South in 1909… Come on! It's so obvious now: from all Navis who like water or ice only one is bright enough to have come up with this." Pride exclaimed.

"Freeze Man?" Saito deduced.

"Yeah. No doubt." Barrel confirmed.

"Hum… Could I remain here? Something gives me a bad vibe about going to the enemy's home base and I think I'll be far more helpful here." Saito requested.

"Authorized."

"Fair enough. We'll be heading over there right now. Is everyone ready and prepared?" Laika asked.

"Yeah!"

"Go! Plug – In, Transmission!"

"I'll go one moment to Papa's lab so that he activates my battle capacities again… Be right back!" Saito exclaimed as he ran off.

"Good enough."

"By the way, Enzan… What happened yesterday night?"

"Shirakami had a quarrel with the woman but found nothing new apart that she can use any type of Battle Chip and likes to come up with invisible "Dream Aura"… She seems to have one protecting her face and stopping him from hitting it. She's pretty stubborn on hiding her face so it must be pretty ugly." Enzan's last commented had a ring of sarcasm to it.

"Sure, sure…" Netto merely shrugged his shoulders.

"Anyway, it's a good idea to keep Rock Man here. Going there could trigger something and bring up his repressed memories. We don't want that to happen so…" Enzan whispered.

"Yeah, I know."

"Tomahawk Man's gonna count the heads of fallen enemies like Gimli and Legolas did in the movies!" Dingo laughed.

"And in the second book two: Gimli got forty-two and Legolas forty yet Gimli's axe ended up bent given how the last one had an iron collar to him so…" Princess Pride shrugged.

"Hum. Maybe I'll do that too… Don't be surprised I go over the 100 enemies mark…" Dark Miyabi chuckled.

"Killer Man won't give them a chance to escape either."

"Ugly-things-hunting has begun!" Dingo laughed.

Everyone looked annoyed at his silly motto while he laughed…


	17. Chapter 17: Frozen beliefs

**Chapter 17: Frozen beliefs**

04:08 AM (Norway Time), Wednesday August the 11th…

"… Too quiet. Even the tunnels are empty and no trace of the SP Viruses anywhere… They're going to ambush us somewhere: stake everything on it… Let's wait for Shadow Man's return: he went scouting on ahead and he will tell us how things look like…"

"Yeah… We don't wanna be caught like idiots."

The members of the "Team of Colonel" (save for Rock Man and Shadow Man) were standing at the very edge of the pit leading directly to the deepest chamber of Angband: this entrance was located in a slope of the valley and the fortress itself was built upon the mountains so it wasn't much visible from the outside save for some red brick turrets which seemed to be there to watch upon the surroundings: several pits and cracks were placed around the area and emitted blackish smokes apart from heat: yet this shaft was the biggest of them all and it had the spiraling stair descending to unseen depths.

"Good news!"

"Huh? You're Grand?"

"Oh yeah. Nice to meet ya."

Grand came up from the right along with Kanou Shade's Net Navi: Grand looked animated while the other Navi was calm.

"The good news is that they're unable to repair the server and that about 50% of the fortress is empty. The lower levels have some huge metallic boxes in them which store something but I dunno the what. We've been able to suck off all energy of the doors leading directly into this shaft so they can't be opened and they won't be destroyed either because we used the enemy's techniques against them: the "Hatred Doors" which those guys can't open." He reported.

"That's good to know."

"I've done some research." Kanou Shade told them,

"And?"

"Expect one or two dragons, several balrogs, reserve troops and a gigantic wolf-like monster… If that woman wants to imitate Morgoroth then it's obvious that she's going to recreate the bestiary he had…"

"Yo! Sorry for the delay." Copy Forte joined them.

"Shirakami is going to run the store?" Blues guessed.

"Yeah. Count on me to handle the big mean guys."

"Alright. Ah. Shadow Man. So?"

"Like they said… 50% of the fortress is empty. I found no Viruses even past that mark and no troops yet there were several presences hidden there and there must be secret corridors leading to the deepest chamber anyway besides the main shaft which is inaccessible to them." Shadow Man reported as he jumped out of the shaft and joined them.

"Fine. We've taken control of the vigilance turrets so if anyone comes out we'll know it ASAP." Barrel commented.

"Without any more preludes… Go!"

"Wait, wait! There's another thing: I built a cargo elevator! But it can only bear 4 at a time. It takes 5 minutes to go down another 5 to go up but it'll be way faster!" Grand held them.

"You could've told us before!" Blues fumed.

"Sorry, I didn't want to interrupt!" He apologized.

"Anyway! Bring it up." Blues commanded.

"It's already coming up. 10 seconds."

"10? Good enough."

A round thick greenish platform came hovering up and stopped: they then looked at it and at Knight Man.

"I'll go alone and last."

"Fine. Then… Shadow Man! Napalm Man! Meddy! Come with me and we'll do the first trip. Kanou Shade, Grande and Search Man will go next and Knight Man comes last with Copy Forte." Blues ordered.

"Roger!"

The four of them climbed into the platform and it immediately hovered down the shaft at a great speed but being protected by a "Barrier" Battle Chip's effect.

"Hum. You've worked it out, eh?" Enzan muttered.

"Yeah. _Aibou_ and I sure did. Right, _Aibou_? Huh? He closed the reply circuit: how odd… Guess he's timid again."

"How old is he?" Netto asked.

"Eh… Well…" He trailed off.

"18?"

"Yeah! 18!"

"You lie." Search Man told him.

"It doesn't matter if he's a minor: as long as his skills help us out then I don't mind his age." Barrel cut the discussion.

"Alright. If Mr. Barrel says so…"

"Phew."

"Let us quarrel over trivial matters if we may, gentlemen. Or else the enemy will laugh at us." Kanou Shade warned.

"Not like I want them to do that." Laika fumed.

"Cool it down." Barrel ordered.

"Can I brighten the mood?" Copy Forte offered.

"Oh yeah! Tell us one of those French comic books gags!"

"Roger… Hum… Aha!"

"What, what?" Netto eagerly asked.

"Well! That of the reporters had me remind… I told you guys before about the _Unicorn_ and Red Rackham, right? Well, Tintin and Captain Haddock found three parchments written by the chevalier into which he'd recorded the coordinates of the island having the _Unicorn_'s remains… But one of the mariners, the cook, who was gonna take part in the still secret expedition told it to a friend in a pub and a nosy reporter caught a hold of some of the info which he then sold as headlines: immediately enough both were stormed by a crowd of 20~30 "gentlemen" pretending to be Red Rackham's descendants and claiming a share on the treasure! So! Captain Haddock quickly thought of a way to shake them off!"

"Keep on!" Netto grinned.

"Yup! Sounds interesting!" Rock Man added over the line.

"… _Laissez-moi faire. S'il y a un véritable Rackham dans le tas, ça se verra tout de suite!_"

"… Allow me. If there's a true Rackham inside of them we'll find out soon enough!" Search Man translated.

"Keep on!"

"… _Vous êtes dons, tous, n'est-ce pas, des descendants de Rackham le Rouge?_"

"… A good question. So! You fellows are all Red Rackham's descendants, so as to speak?" Search Man looked slightly amused.

"… _Bon. Eh bien! Moi, je suis le descendant du chevalier François de Hadoque, qui tua jadis Rackham le Rouge en combat singulier… Et il y a des moment…_"

"Good! Well then! I am the descendant of the chevalier Francis Haddock who killed Red Rackham in a single duel… And there are times…"

"In which he gets excited?" Netto tried to guess.

"In which he makes the bodies hit the floor!" Dingo laughed.

CLONG!

"Wha! Nenji – san! Why did ya hit me with a frying pan?"

"Watch your words, you little rascal! There's a Princess – sama here and you're being rude!" Nenji scolded.

"Incidentally, Rokushakudama Nenji… _Where_ did that frying pan come out from if it isn't a state secret?" Barrel asked with some sarcasm.

"Huh! I brought it from home…"

"Why?"

"Well… It's my luck charm so as to say…"

"Yeah. I dunno the why too." Napalm Man muttered.

"Can I continue?" Copy Forte asked.

"Yeah. Sorry the interruption, fellow." Nenji grinned.

"…_où je sens remonter en moi les instincts belliqueux de mon aïeul!_"

"…in which I feel my ancestor's warfare instincts stir me up!"

"So, what happened next?" Netto asked.

"Ain't it obvious? The crowd ran away like they were gonna be slaughtered alive: thus his method to demonstrate they were pretenders was 100% effective! Any real guy would've demanded revenge!"

"True." Enzan admitted with a smile.

"_Au large, pirates d'eau douce_!"

"Flee, you rookie pirates!"

"Hold on. The elevator's come… Let's go!" Grand interrupted them as he signaled it.

"I'll go down with Knight Man as agreed." Copy Forte told them with a welcoming smile.

"Alright. See you down there."

"Gurowo~h!"

Several roars rang out from the depths of the shaft along with the sounds of battle.

"Damn it! An ambush! 8 Balrogs! You gotta hurry down here! Grand! Kanou Shade! Can you battle properly?"

"Don't worry! Hack's a master of Program Advances and of bug-causing techniques!" Grand replied.

"I have some Rare Chips…" Kanou Shade admitted.

"Good! Let's go!"

"I'll try to increase the speed of this and I'll suck off power from the fortress to allow for a more powerful barrier." "Hack" announced yet his voice was distorted by a device.

"Fair enough!"

The group of four went down while Copy Forte and Knight Man remained on the surface.

"_Que se passe-t-il, la haut?_"

"What's going on upstairs? Who says that?" Knight Man asked.

"The Siamese twins, Dupont and Dupond who'd come to visit… And no sooner they said that they were run over by the crowd who left behind some _souvenirs_ in their escape from the Brussels butcher…"

"Hum! So the pretenders were driven out!" He sounded amused.

"_Et voilà vos archives, flibustiers de carnaval!"_

"Here are your records, you Carnival filibusters!"

"Records?" Netto wondered.

"Books they'd improved in a rush to make them look they had records proving their lineage…" He explained.

"Heh, heh! That was fun."

"Look! The elevator is already back here… How much have you speeded it up, Hack – dono?" Knight Man asked.

"Two minutes to go down. I had to increase the barrier by over 30%! But you won't feel anything in the way down." "Hack" replied.

"Alright! Let's go! To Hell we go!"

"Indeed!"

Both stepped into the elevator two and it headed downwards at a maddening speed while a powerful "Dream Aura" shielded them from the friction: the end of the shaft soon became visible and they spotted their comrades fighting against the group of eight Balrogs: a chuckle was echoing in the room.

"That's…!" Copy Forte muttered.

"Freeze Man!" Knight Man grumbled.

"So! We meet again, Knight Man of Cream Land! Too bad you didn't realize you were a mere pawn, a side dish…" Freeze Man taunted from the overseeing room using a speaker.

"You go help them. I'll handle that jerk: I'm sure there's a system to control those things given how I feel an encrypted signal travelling across the room…" Copy Forte whispered.

"Roger! Come, you monsters of the Underworld!"

Copy Forte leapt atop the room and drew both "Dark Arm Blades" which he used to cut a hole in the ceiling and drop inside: Freeze Man turned around to face him with a smug smile.

"I've heard of you. The result of Gospel's "Forte Recreation Scheme"… The only remaining survivor… You've exceeded the original in power, intelligence and persona… If my old Master could hear this he'd be rejoiced… Sadly I never found out what became of him after I was deleted: I just know that Rock Man EXE was able to best one of your brethren and a monstrous monster which was accidentally formed… Now… Where is my Master?" Freeze Man smiled.

"Gospel Shuryou? Dunno. I tried to look it up myself but the info was nowhere: given how he's still an elementary student then it's no wonder his info hasn't been published." He replied.

"I knew that. Yet, why didn't Rock Man come?"

"He thought he'd be more useful as homeland defender."

"Hmpf… I thought he'd come powered by rage and anger…"

"Why should the guy? We already pulled that on March. He ain't gonna fall for the same strategy twice in a row." He shot back.

"Guo~h! Dream Sword! Fourth one down! We can do it, guys!" Blues yelled as he split a Balrog's waist in half.

"Oh yeah! Eat this! Napalm Bomb! Vulcan Arm!"

Napalm Man attacked a Balrog while Shadow Man appeared from behind and made his Muramasa Blade hit the head of the monster from above while plunging inside of his head: the monster roared and collapsed into the ground.

"Without their control unit they're unable to move!"

"Hmpf… It doesn't matter if you destroy these. The biggest nightmare is on its way to Japan…" Freeze Man made a smug smile.

"The biggest nightmare?" Copy Forte gasped.

"You'll soon know… Heh, heh, heh, heh…"

"You bastard… Fight like a man!" Copy Forte challenged.

"Mountain Spear! Icicle Fall!"

"Hell's Buster!"

"Hmpf…"

Freeze Man suddenly attacked with his ranged attacks yet Copy Forte used his Hell's Buster to destroy them: Freeze Man encased his body inside of an ice mass and the rounds bounced off it.

"Ice Tower!"

"What!"

Copy Forte gasped dodged the Ice Towers which popped from the ground yet when he landed back on it he found that the ground had become "Ice Stage" and he was sliding around it: he cursed and tried to maneuver as the Ice Towers kept on popping out and Freeze Man taunted him with a chuckle from inside of the ice mass.

"Come out and fight!" Copy Forte growled.

"Break through this." Freeze Man challenged back.

"Damn! Darkness Overload!"

"Hmpf…"

The mass of ice got shattered yet an ice sculpture of Freeze Man was standing inside of it instead of the real one: Copy Forte gasped and got hit by three _shuriken_ from behind: the real Freeze Man was standing on the far wall and looking downwards thus defying gravity.

"Y-you bastard… You've frozen the wall and gotten attached there… That's your version of the _Kawarimi_…!" Copy Forte growled.

"Now… Let us end this farce!"

"Napalm Bomb!"

"Ugro~h! What heat! I can't stand it… You savage! Napalm Man! You traitor!"

"Traitor and whatever! I side with the strongest!"

Napalm Man had come in and Freeze Man was trying to shield his body from the infernal heat brought upon by the combustion of the napalm which melted all ice away: Copy Forte grinned.

"You bastard were supposed to help in the building of a new WWW: Gospel was to be its cover before they started up…! And there you go and betray your makers!" Freeze Man growled.

"Man! Are ya DEAF or what? I told ya: I side with the strongest! Now I feel at home like this and Nenji's a nice fella! Come on! I'm sure even your Master could turn into a nice fella if he liked to."

"Hah! The one who commanded all those incidents? The one who didn't hesitate on disposing of two useless members? The one who planned the Okudama Valley flooding, tried to destroy the ONBA, almost had a plane crash and started earthquakes around the world would? Don't make me laugh, savage! You bastards can't hope to understand the mindset of the mighty Gospel Shuryou!" Freeze Man growled.

"But Gospel Shuryou's mind was being manipulated by Wily through the Internet and he had lost his true self!" Netto argued.

"What! You mean to say he was but a puppet?"

"Of course! You Gospel were always intended to be a distraction while he rebuilt the WWW! Obihiro was a victim! Wily used his tragic life and his traumas as basis for his control! But thanks to me I could have him realize he deserved a new chance…!" Netto added.

"Liar! Gospel Shuryou would never steep so low! Enough chit-chat: the nightmare is descending upon you!" He growled.

"What's this HUGE signature?" Barrel gasped.

"Hah, hah, hah, hah! The mightiest of Angband's terrors is about to crush you… Nothing can stop it! Nothing can!" He laughed.

He suddenly warped out and left a Giga Count Bomb on his place so both Napalm Man and Copy Forte jumped out into the battle against the surviving 2 Balrogs while the overseeing room blew up.

"Damn it. Things are just taking a turn for the worse."

"Oi! What's going on over there?" Napalm Man asked.

"Guess we now know… That's thing's HUGE!" Netto gasped.

"WHAT is that?" Enzan gasped.

"GRUWOA~W!"


	18. Chapter 18: Rise of the black dragon

**Chapter 18: Rise of the black dragon**

12:45 PM (Japan Time), Wednesday August the 11th…

"… WHAT is that?"

"Huge!"

"A d-d-d-d-d…!"

"A dragon!"

"A black dragon!"

"It's huge!"

"Hah, hah, hah! This is it! This is… Glaurung! The first dragon to ever exist in Middle-Earth, the creation of Melkor the Supreme…!"

"… Heh, heh, heh… Thou shalt be entrapped within the spell of my lidless eyes and wander upon despair and sorrow forever…!"

"T-this guy speaks like an _Edo period_ guy…!"

Killer Man, Rock Man, Tomahawk Man, Ground Man, Slash Man and Wind Man gasped as a gigantic black-colored dragon with wings and four legs plus lidless snake-like eyes descended from the skies and landed in front of them within the Science Labs' HP: Freeze Man was standing upon a pillar of ice about eight meters to the right of the dragon who smiled and addressed them in an arcane manner.

"… So then who shalt be the one to feel my power? Hmmm… Thou shalt be the one, blue-clad man…" He muttered as he looked around but then set his gaze in Rock Man.

He expanded his eyes and the image of them got superimposed in Rock Man's own retina: he seemed to be frozen in place and his eyes soon lost trace of consciousness to them as if he was in an hypnotic trance: a ring of black flames three meters tall suddenly formed around him as if to stop the other Navis from interfering.

"Do no hasten. Thou shalt be the next ones." He told them.

"Attack!"

"Hah. Let the blackish fires of the underground consume thee!"

He breathed in and then expelled a torrent of black fire which inflicted major damage to the Navis before they could even take a step forward: they got knocked into the ground while he focused on Rock Man again: he chuckled and looked amused at something.

"I can see it… Nay, a nightmare it is not! Yea, reality it being! Awaken thee accursed memory and let it consume thou!"

Rock Man suddenly collapsed into his knees and brought both hands to his helmet as he started to tremble: he looked in fear and was trying to say something but the words wouldn't come out.

"Hmmm… There is more to it, from what I see can… Fear! Abysmal fear: thou have been in the border of the black unending pit! Thou have escaped by sacrificing thee mortal flesh and gaining an immortal flesh which age does not! It shalt forever pursue thee no matter where thee go to…" He chuckled.

Rock Man screamed and suddenly seemed to lose consciousness given how he collapsed face-down on the ground: the flames closed around him and began to burn him.

"Damn! Why isn't the Plug-Out button working? Battle Chip, Geyser! Slot In! What the hell! "Access Denied"! No way!" Netto cursed.

"Nothing shalt stand in my way: I am done not. So let be it! Thou shall forever be plagued by thee memories and forever remain asleep: thou shall nay awake until I am slain! Such is my curse!"

"Don't screw me! Curses don't exist!" Netto roared.

"Let us call it a bug then." Freeze Man chuckled.

"Damn it!" Netto hissed.

"Now I shall spread my black fires across this world and all shall submit to the power of my Mistress! She who will rule the world!"

"… If you lowlifes mean the woman who dared to make a puppet out of me then I'll firstly dispose of you lowlife… Earth Breaker!"

"What!"

"Hmpf…"

Original Forte came out of nowhere in particular while accumulating energy on his right hand in the form of a spheroid and diving for Glaurung the black dragon: Freeze Man gasped but the dragon merely opened his wings and began to hover in the air: Original Forte hit his tail with the "Earth Breaker" yet the energy built up on the spear located at its end to suddenly be shot back at Original Forte and knocking him into the ground: he rolled to the left to avoid the paws of the dragon as he suddenly dropped upon the ground and made it shake: even Freeze Man momentarily lost his balance and his ice column began to shatter: he jumped into the air and hovered as Glaurung exhaled black fire at Original Forte: he jumped into the air again.

"Hell's Buster!"

He bombarded the black dragon's head with the Hell's Buster but he didn't seem to even notice the attack: he beat the wings and the powerful wind pushed Original Forte away: Glaurung flew at an impossible speed towards him while chuckling and Original Forte drew both Dark Arm Blades while roaring.

"DIE!"

"Nay! Thou shalt be the one to be deceased and unmade!"

Glaurung exhaled black fire and Original Forte barely dodged it yet part of his cloak got charred: his rage seemed to build up and he suddenly warped somehow and appeared behind Freeze Man seizing him from behind: Freeze Man made a smug smile and emitted condensed vapor which transformed into ice freezing his limbs: he slipped away and crashed upon the floor thus shattering the ice on his limbs.

"Damn you! Damn you! Damn you! You dare to make a fool out of me! I'll destroy you!" He roared.

"Enough. Holy Shock!"

"Ugru~h!"

"Guru~h!"

"You…! Serenade…!"

"Forte. It would seem some memories have returned."

"Out of my way! I can win this alone!"

"You cannot in your current state. Rage leads to further rage, blinding and eventually deletion."

"Don't talk like you're the King of the World!"

"I am the Reverse King."

"Fuck! Stay outta my way or I'll delete you bastard too!"

"Be quiet."

Serenade came into the fray yet Original Forte wasn't amused in the least to see him: Serenade was calm and collected as always while Original Forte was pissed off by now so Serenade showed him the right palm and emitted some pulses which seemed to immobilize Forte.

"A new technique I have been researching into… You shall remain quiet and your body shall be slowly relieved so that the rage is purged: when it is then you will be able to fight properly." He explained.

"Ugh… Gruh… Guh…" He uttered.

"Damn it! The Reverse King…! Bah! I might not be a strong enough opponent but Glaurung the black dragon sure is!" Freeze Man cursed aloud.

"Indeed! Thou shalt not escape my black fire."

"Who said I wanted to escape it?" Serenade calmly replied.

Gluarung chuckled and then shot a stream of black flames at Serenade yet the two pinkish curved lances moved to the front and bounced it back.

"What!"

The fire hit Gluarung's belly and chest thus inflicting real damage and distracting him: Serenade leapt into the air and extended his right hand to form several greenish spheroids which bombarded his head several times in a row.

"Yamato Man. Dark Man. Come in."

"Roger! Strategy start, Dark Man!"

"Kush, kush! Killer Beam!"

"Thousand Spear!"

Dark Man showed up from behind and aimed at the tails' spear which was swinging around like mad: the Killer Beam was bounced off and Yamato Man then hit it at several spots to break it down into beams which hit the lidless eyes of the dragon and his nostrils plus getting inside of his mouth: he roared but was unable to counter given Serenade's constant bombarding of his head.

"Damn it! I won't let you! Mountain…!"

"Death Killer Beam!"

"Grwa~h! You bastard!"

Killer Man had recovered and shot his attack at Freeze Man from behind: he leapt into the air and began to swing the sickle around like mad thus forcing him into defending and giving him no chances of countering: Killer Man laughed in his usual maddening manner.

"Hyah, hah, hah, hah! Festival, bloody festival! Hell's Sickle!"

However, once the Hell's Sickle hit Freeze Man his body shattered into countless ice shards: Killer Man gasped and suddenly got five _shuriken _in a row stabbed into his body from behind: Freeze Man dropped down and kicked his head from behind thus tossing him into the ground where he landed: Freeze Man glowed with a pale blue aura as he built up energy on his hands.

"Antarctic Stage~!" He roared.

He plunged his hands into the ground and ice began to spread from there covering the whole area and forming prisons of ice around the knocked out Net Navis: grayish clouds formed as well and a blizzard began to blow around the whole homepage: Freeze Man emitted a weak chuckle and looked up as his eyes now shone with a bluish light.

"This is my new power!" He exclaimed.

"By all the…! He's been overpowered!" Barrel cursed.

He then roared and headed for Serenade and the others who kept on their attacking without minding the new weather: Serenade saw him coming so he aimed several of energy spheroids at him which hit him but shattered another fake: Serenade was not surprised and his lances bounced off the _shuriken_ thus generating Sonic Booms headed for the real Freeze Man: he got him on the body below the chest armor and growled.

"Don't be cocky~!" He roared.

He drew two swords made of thin and edged ice which rather looked like ice razors while diving for Yamato Man: his small helpers formed behind him and each attacked Freeze Man before he kicked them away: a figure suddenly fell from above and dragged Freeze Man to the ground in which they landed with a loud CRASH sound.

"Checkmate!" King Man EXE announced.

"Ya~! Hikari~! Been a while!"

"A-Aragoma Torakichi!"

Aragoma Torakichi had suddenly come into the room to the surprise of everyone.

"You!" Enzan uttered.

"Yo! Ijuuin! Ya too were 'ere eh? Man! There's some hot stuff going on and ya don't tell me anythin'! I've come all the way from my Akindo City, ya know!" He laughed.

"Yo! Don't forget me either. Go!"

"Metal Break!"

"Muwro~h! More interlopers, damn it all!"

"Metal Man! The Navi of a lady in the Onsen Inn Urawaka in Yoka Yoka Village…! Contestant in the N1 Grand Prix and the Eagle Tournament!"

"Yessir! Shiraizumi Tamako's 'ere!"

Shiraizumi Tamako stepped in while blinking the right eye and spinning the Link PET on her right hand before making a challenging posture while aiming the PET for the wall.

"Whoa!"

"H-hi!"

"Whoa! You're… Urakawa Mamoru!"

"Been a while, Netto – kun…"

"Mamoru. So you came." Serenade muttered.

"Of course! I care for you, Serenade! As the Reverse Internet Admin and as your friend!"

Urakawa Mamoru (wearing a brownish jumper with a hood, jeans and white sneakers) walked in with a smile on his face.

"R-Reverse Internet Admin? HE?" Several of the persons asked.

"Yup! My dad built the Reverse Internet, you see!"

"Why?" Dingo asked.

"It was a Science Labs Project: to hide the "Giga Freeze" program designed to stop Proto in case it awakened again and to contain its effects in case of accidental trigger…" He admitted as he scratched the back of his head and blushed.

"What! The Reverse Internet exists just for that?" Original Forte suddenly demanded over the radio.

"Correct. And I know you have the "Giga Freeze" program in you but it doesn't matter 'cause Proto is gone. Do as you like."

"A small correction: I have taken it back." Serenade announced.

"When?"

"When I battled him slightly after Proto's destruction and was barely able to win… I don't think he remembers that, though."

"Release this idiotic device!" He growled.

"Not yet. Your hate isn't totally purged yet."

"What are you waiting for to get rid of that dragon then?"

"We are trying to overload the skin's capacity and thickness so that we can strike the kernel." Serenade calmly replied.

"Metal Missile! Metal Wheel!"

"Go, Rook, Horse!"

"You bastards! You dare to defy the will of the "Witch - Queen of Angmar" who shall rule this world?" Freeze Man growled as he tried to stand up to the combination of King Man and Metal Man.

"Yea! We do!" King Man exclaimed.

"No – one's gonna rule the world by destruction while I'm around to stop that from happening!" Metal Man exclaimed.

Serenade then spotted Rock Man who seemed to be crying on his sleep and was closing himself in a fetal position as if trying to shield himself from something: he was sobbing and trembling.

"Some kind of bug which must be causing him to see horrendous things beyond imagination… That won't do!"

Serenade aimed his right hand at him while he kept on shooting at the black dragon with the left one and emitted sound waves colored white and blue aimed at Rock Man's chest emblem: it began to glow and he stopped moving.

"This should purge the bug."

"Serenade – sama…! The body thickness has gone down by 88%! We should be able to hit the kernel now!" Dark Man reported.

"Allow me, my lord!" Yamato Man requested.

"Good. Yet… Let us do it from some distance. Dark Man. Come and help keep him immobile while Yamato Man strikes from below."

"Roger!"

Both flew at some distance from the dragon while Yamato Man landed on the ground and looked up: the skin of the dragon had gotten very thin indeed and was losing solidity thus revealing the clusters of data which made it up and the polygons: the kernel, a glowing purple spheroid with many wires emitting from it, could be seen set where the heart would be located at: he threw the spear upwards and it plunged into the kernel thus passing through it.

"I-impossible… I have lost…? I shalt curse thee forever…! My blood shalt stain the noble hearts and turn them into evil…! Hah, hah, hah, hah, hah, ha~h!" He muttered before exploding into broken laughter.

His whole program detonated and swept the area: everyone expect for Serenade was then knocked into the ground while Serenade formed several Sonic Booms which expanded into the air and shattered the ice prisons as the blizzard died down: Freeze Man was already on the ground and suffering grave injuries: Serenade walked over to him.

"Freeze Man… What Hikari Netto told you is the truth. I am sure Obihiro is looking on with regret and sadness… You had a place on his heart after all yet he couldn't do something as bold as trying to revive you… And you cannot return to your commander like this: you will be deleted."

"Hah! Do you think I care about that? So be it! I should've been slain defending the Graveyard! But now that I failed this campaign it's adequate enough punishment for me! Farewell!"

"You fool! You let them run away!"

"It is my policy to be merciful."

Original Forte walked towards Serenade while somehow managing to keep his balance and looked annoyed while Serenade was calm and collected.

"Merciful! Hah! I laugh at that."

"Forte. Not all humans are evil. You can't pick just 20 of them and from there claim 4 billion humans are the same. I understand what happened to you yet it was Proto who started it… Proto framed you and now that it's been destroyed you're free of that curse…"

"Don't screw me! By the time the old man wanted to awaken Proto I was still being hunted by the dogs!" He roared.

"That's because they weren't informed. Yet some of them have already gone away. I'll say it again: what 20 humans did can't be applied to a whole 4 billion humans. That's called "guilty by association" and only tyrannies use that. It isn't justice. It isn't fair."

"Shut up, shut up! SHUT UP!"

He opened his purple swirling vortex and jumped inside to then close it: Serenade sighed and nodded his head in negation.

"That child… He will not reason. He must be purged of his hatred further than this…" He muttered.

"We won today's battle too… But this can't keep on like this. Were it not for you guys we'd definitely lost. The enemy grows stronger with each passing day. We must put an end to it somehow. And that "somehow" is deleting the "Witch - Queen of Angmar"." Barrel muttered.

"I approve. I won't let a villain who tortures people to stop them from fighting and won't fight fair run loose." Netto told everyone.

"So you're starting to grow out of that _naiveté_… Good, Hikari. Then count me in." Enzan told him.

"This is battle between justice and evil." Serenade muttered.


	19. Chapter 19: Dramatic pursuit

**Chapter 19: Dramatic pursuit**

15:33 PM (Japan Time), Wednesday August the 11th

"… Uh-unh… Huh… No… Don't… Take me instead… Don't make him suffer anymore… No…! Damn you…! This pulsation…! This hatred… I'll use hatred to destroy you~!"

"Saito – niisan! Wake up!"

"Huh! Huff, huff… A… nightmare…? Netto – kun…?"

"Yeah. That's me. Calm down. We're home."

"W-what happened to the battle?"

"We won. Serenade and others came in and saved the day. It was something dire, though. Everyone else was knocked out."

"I see…"

Saito had been tossing around on Netto's bed when Netto called out to him and he sat up, panting and looking afraid before he calmed down and looked at Netto, sitting on a chair to his right.

"Blues and the others came back from the home base pretty beaten up because they'd had to battle 8 Balrogs and about 2500 soldiers who had been hidden in adjacent caverns… That Grand guy is keeping on with the hacking and trying to discover if the woman is somewhere there at all or she's fled elsewhere. Freeze Man returned there yet he didn't find her either…" Netto explained.

"… Hum… And… Meiru – chan is safe?"

"Yeah. Jasmine and Meddy keep on protecting her but she won't let Roll go anywhere outside of her house and she fears even coming out into the doorstep. It gets worse at nighttime where she gets freaked out by any sound at all… This is consuming her, damn it. That woman must be trying to stir up our hatred but we won't let her!" Netto grumbled.

"Uh-unh… Netto – kun… Can I ask you something…? Eh… Well… I think that I've realized something…" Saito timidly asked.

"What?"

"… That woman tortured me, right?"

"… Yeah. We didn't want that to leave sequels on you yet you alone somehow repressed those memories… It was after the big spider thing dropped into you… Kanou – san saved you."

"I see… Because… I was trapped in a nightmare… I was forced to see how you were suffering and there I was, closed inside of a locker and being forced to look out… I was disposed to sacrifice myself for your sake but that cruel woman kept on making me see it… In the end she forced me to do horrible things to you…!" He sobbed.

"It's alright… It was an illusion: it didn't happen for real. Serenade healed you from the bug that dragon freak gave you…"

"That dragon…! I could feel it…! He was reading everything: there was nothing he couldn't read of my mind…!" Saito muttered.

"Snap out of it! Enough weeping tales: you're alive, we won the battle and you're at home." Netto told him.

"Sorry…"

"Don't mind it. I brought someone along. Come in!"

Copy Forte (having dressed up with jeans, plastic boots, and a black sleeveless t-shirt plus an Oosaka Tigers cap) came in while blinking Saito an eye: he sat down on the chair which Netto yielded.

"Yo! Rock Man. Hikari told me you needed some cheering up. Get ready for the continuation of what I narrated earlier this morning."

"Huh! G-go ahead…" Saito looked surprised.

"Well! It turns out that the door's bell rings and a simple-looking man clad in a green coat, cap and black pants plus shoes shows up… He looks on his 40s or 50s with some hair left close to the base of the neck and some black moustache and beard. He has small reading glasses on and simple brown iris eyes. He carries a case and a black umbrella."

"Sounds like someone living in the 50s…"

"Yeah. Well then, he takes off the hat and Haddock regards him with a skeptical look… _Je désirerais parler a Monsieur Tintin_."

"Hum… I'd like to speak with Mr. Tintin… Right?" Saito translated.

"… _Pourquoi? Vous vous nommez sans doute Rackham le Rouge?_"

"… Why? You gotta be named after Red Rackham, then?"

"… _Oui?"_

"… Yes? And?"

"… Ahem, ahem… _Non! Je vous demande si vous vous appelez aussi Rackham le Rouge…!_"

"… No! I want to know if you're named after Red Rackham! Good question, yeah…" Saito began to look interested.

"… _Ah?_"

"What? He wasn't paying attention? Or did he come for another reason which wasn't the treasure?" Saito frowned.

"… _Je vous demande votre nom!_"

"… I want to know your name! Oh! True. What's his name?"

"… _Veuillez parler plus haut. Je suis un peu dur d'oreille_…"

"… Please speak louder. I am a bit hard of hearing… So that's why he didn't seem to understand the questioning!" Saito realized.

"… _VOTRE NOM!_"

"… YOUR NAME! Whoa. He had to have run out of patience by then! So, did he get the question?" Saito was surprised.

"… _Non? Ah! C'est dommage! Tant pis! Je reviendrai… J'aurais voulu parler à Monsieur Tint lui-même_…"

"… You gotta be kidding me." Saito looked skeptical.

"He sounded like… disappointed." Netto ventured.

"Sure thing… No? Ah. What a pity! Never mind! I'll come again… I'd desire to speak to Mr. Tintin himself… He had to be harder of hearing than an elephant." Saito muttered.

"In the end it happened that he wanted to propose them the usage of his self-invented sharp-shaped pocket submarine to protect them from the sharks… He was an inventor named Tryphon Tournessol. But when he tried to climb into the machine set atop two easels it broke in two and he refused to acknowledge he was to blame trying to sell it off as someone's sabotage… And that made them lose all interest on the matter…"

"So! They did go to search the treasure?" Netto asked.

"Well! Tintin headed to the fishing boat _Sirius_ and found the Captain to be ill-humored. He blamed it on the flu and was superstitious because he'd accidentally shattered a mirror, said to bring seven years of misfortune: he was having doubts if it was wise to set off or not."

"And they did?"

"Before that the Captain got a letter hand-delivered to him. He had a look at it and he exclaimed it was horrendous but it turned out to be his medic forbidding him from consuming alcohol because it damaged his liver. And then guess who shows up? Professor Tournessol, saying he's built a better version of the submarine. He asks when he can come onboard…" Copy Forte grinned.

"Keep on!" Netto encouraged.

"The dialogue goes like this… "_Bonjour, Messieurs! Je ne vous dérange pas? Non? Alors, Messieurs, je vous annonce que mon appareil est terminé. Quand puis-je m'embarquer?_" … So?"

"Hum… "Morning, Gentlemen. I am not bothering? No? Well then, Gentlemen, I announce the completion of my machine. When can I come onboard?"… What was the reply?" Saito looked taken in again.

"_Pas question de vous embarquer! Votre appareil ne nous intéresse pas!_"

"… "You're not coming onboard! We are not interested in your machine!"… Heh. As expected…"

"… _Demain?_"

"… Tomorrow? He was mishearing again?" Saito rolled his eyes.

"… _Non, pas demain! Jamais!_"

"No! Not tomorrow! Never!"

"Never say never again." Netto laughed.

"_Aujourd'hui…? Bon! Je vais le chercher tout de suite…_"

"Today? Good! I'll go fetch it immediately… Man! He never really gets the messages, does he?" Saito sounded incredulous by now.

"So the guy walks away and Haddock's had enough. He climbs into the wharf and runs after him. He catches up with him and grabs the left side of his coat while shaking him to call for his attention… _Vous êtes peut-être sourd, mille sabords! Mais vous n'êtes sûrement aveugle, hein!_"

"Hum… You may be deaf, a thousand blistering barnacles! But you surely aren't blind, eh! Of course not… He was gonna show him a sign that they were fed up with him?" Saito seemed to image the outcome.

"Sure! Haddock takes out black chalk and writes in a nearby wall "VOTRE APPAREIL NE NOUS INTÉRESSE PAS!" while underlying the "PAS!" wording to signify emphasis on it…"

"… "WE ARE _NOT_ INTERESTED IN YOUR MACHINE!"… Oh yeah. This time he did get it!" Saito grinned.

"So Haddock got into a better mood and decided that they'd sail according to the schedule! The police detectives came onboard to protect them from a bad guy who had escaped police custody and had been sighted around the area… And on the first night of the voyage something terrific and horrendous happened!" He teased.

"W-whoa! Don't stop there! Keep on! We want to know what that "something" was about!"

16:04 PM (Japan Time)…

"… There you are! What! Playing pyromaniac? I won't let you set fire to our Battle Chip Store, villain!"

"Damn! The fake!"

"I ain't a fake! And we've got a score to settle!"

"Try to catch me, fool!"

"Stop right there!"

Shirakami had caught the "Witch - Queen of Angmar" spraying gasoline into a pile of wood and paper near the side-door of their Battle Chip Store and she ran off so Shirakami chased after her: she leapt over two steel-forged gates barring a street and down a deserted avenue: Shirakami placed his "Buster" on the ground and used the recoil of the "Charge Shot" to propel himself upwards and pass above the doorway: he landed and began to run after her while avoiding some drums and other objects she'd set on the ground to try to impede his progress.

"Hah. These little tricks won't work on me! Area Steal!"

He warped further on ahead and spotted the woman running down the avenue two meters ahead of him: Shirakami accelerated his pace and the woman saw him coming so she began to toss Mini-Bomb Battle Chips at him yet he either dodged them or shot them.

"Damn you! Plebeian!"

"You're no real queen, just a wannabe." He taunted.

"Shut up!" She growled at him.

"Just admit you were trained by the "Ice Queen" already: only someone with such a background could be so sadistic." Shirakami told her.

"Ice Queen and whatever! Screw her!"

"That wasn't really convincing. You weren't really trying but I guess you have no patience for that. Your evil-doing ends here."

"Hah! Dream on, inferior!"

"No – one's inferior or superior. This ain't the _Edo period_ and you're not a feudal lord." Shirakami was unimpressed with her insults.

"I'll turn you into my slave!" She threatened.

"Yeah? I don't think you'll manage by just running away. And Freeze Man's still in Angband recovering from the battle." Shirakami shot back.

"Che!"

"You must've been plotting something with Nebula Grey somewhere else given how you weren't in Angband lately." He deduced.

"Don't get cocky~!" She roared.

"For a woman you sure have some bad words."

"Of course I do! I'm gonna shatter all those imbecile male-created _clichés_ and rules! Occidental women are more prone to being rebellious and using strong words!" She argued back.

"I don't mind if you wanna be like that but waging war and torturing people ain't nice." Shirakami told her.

"Like I care! My Lord commands for hatred, grudge, fear, terror, despair and hopelessness to form in this world! Such is my _raison d'être_! Now get out of the way, you damned interloper!" She exclaimed.

"Sure, sure. You always call everyone like that so… And I don't see the need to play around with such suspense anyway."

"Hmpf! I decide what I do and how I do it! Now die! Tank Cannon!"

"Che. Urban warfare again… Charge Shot! Che! You still pull the invisible shielding trick!" He grumbled as he tried to attack her and his attack bounced off.

"Hah! Taste my secret weapon! Agony Binding!"

"What the hell is that? Huh? Something is materializing! Charge Shot! It didn't make effect? What the heck? Damn it!"

Some iron-colored pieces formed in the air and flew around Shirakami who tried to shoot them down: a bar with two cuffs on it flew towards his legs from behind and the cuffs closed around his ankles: the sudden limitation of movement made Shirakami lose his balance just as another two landed on his wrists and kept them immobilized: he grumbled and tried to shoot with his default weapon but it wouldn't work.

"You lowlife! That's cheating!" He protested.

"Hah! Now you fool see how I don't make announcements in vain, do you?" She taunted.

"That won't come to happen! Go, Flame Sword!"

There was a sudden flash and a bang followed by the sound of something breaking: a "Charge Shot" rang out and it hit the cloaked villain in the stomach area thus pushing her into the ground: when the flash dimmed Kanou Shade's Navi could be seen standing there along with his Operator: the remains of the bindings were scattered on the floor and the Navi had a Flame Sword drawn.

"You! Kanou Shade! How did you elude the bounty hunters?"

"Simple! They still don't know about IQ's downfall so when I showed them a document with the official seal they got scared and fled: no – one dares to mess with the ruler of the underground!" He shrugged.

"DAMN YOU!"

"Indeed." He sarcastically replied.

"I'll slice your neck off right here right now!"

"You'll have to get past me and this guy firstly." Shirakami defied as he aimed a Super Vulcan at her.

"Ki~h! Someone blow them up!"

"Hmpf! Freeze Man can't make the trip Norway-Japan in one second, you know! And Mr. Grand has sealed up the shaft and the main entrance: he's cornered there like a sitting duck!" Kanou Shade announced.

"Damned interlopers!"

"This war ends here! Area Steal! Charge Shot!"

However, the Charge Shot only caused for a transparent mirror-like wall to shatter into shards: they gasped and spotted the woman running off by jumping across the rooftops.

"Wait!"

Both Navis chased her while Kanou Shade followed them from ground level: she ran inside of a building and began to throw empty drums at them which they easily dodged given their poor aiming: Mega Energy Bombs were thrown outside next but they'd already gotten inside the abandoned two-story warehouse building: the target was on the center barricaded by some drums and crates and throwing things out.

"Die, die and DIE~!" She yelled at them.

"Jeez. They don't know when to give up. But she got into a spot ideal for one type of attack… Mr. Shade! Distract her."

"Roger. Navi Customizer Program, Shield!"

The Navi drew the shield and bounced off the Super Vulcan rounds which were shot next: Shirakami warped to behind the barricade and silently threw an Earthquake Battle Chip into the air and it landed inside of the compound breaking the floor and incrusting the villain into the ground thus making her be trapped under the heavy Virus.

"Guagh! Gurgh... Grah!"

"_Game Over_."

"Give it up. Show your face."

"Fools! Fools! FOOLS! Area Steal! Giga Count Bomb! Plug Out!"

She suddenly warped into the midst of the air, threw the Giga Count Bomb towards some gasoline crates and aimed for the lighting control panel so as to escape: the Copy Roid immediately self-destructed while both Navis ran out of the warehouse: Kanou Shade was already running away.

"Hurry it up!"

They had barely run ten meters when the bomb went off and the whole building was set in scorching flames: they kept on running and didn't stop until they were at least fifty meters away.

"Huff… Huff… Damn eyesore!" Kanou Shade growled.

"Damn it. We were so close, really! She's good at improving but her luck will run out sooner or later. No – one's lucky forever. Yet she's so mania-like with that habit of wanting to dispose of the Copy Roids… Why the hell is she so stubborn on hiding her face? Maybe she happens to be a normal model Navi like yours and that Hack guy's one and thinks we'd laugh at her?" Shirakami cursed between pants.

"Well… That could be a highly probable reason…" Kanou Shade seemed to find it logical.

"I'm going back to my store… I wanna make sure she doesn't try to set in on fire… Are you going to be alright, Mr. Shade?"

"Of course… If the best bounty-hunters got freaked out after I announced my career then only an ignorant novice fool would take the offer up and would fail miserably." He calmly told Shirakami.

"Sure thing… Well then… See ya around."

"G-good afternoon, Mr. Shirakami…"

Kanou Shade sat on the ground so as to recover his breath while his persona-less Navi stood in front of him with the "Shield" and the Flame Sword drawn: he cursed under his breath and looked at a letter which had a sign as signature: a golden triangle the vortexes of which had three five-pointed stars and a purple-colored Alphabet "D" letter written inside of it in an stylized manner.

"Hell! I'm sure of it. You did train that woman. Or she found out about you. Damn you… Anaya Maria! You keep on causing pain and suffering even after you've been dethroned by me and "Cousin V"!"

He crumbled the letter and formed a grimace upon his face…


	20. Chapter 20: Imposter

**Chapter 20: Imposter**

16:45 PM (Japan Time), Wednesday August the 11th

"… You there."

"Hmmm?"

"Pentagon Security Officers!"

"What are Pentagon Security Officers Net Navis doing in Japan's Reverse Internet anyway? Do you want something outta me?"

"You're under arrest."

"Why?"

"Don't play innocent. You've illegally broken into the 4th Department's database and escaped with a lot of files after decimating 80% of the Department's Defense Squad!"

"Me? When was that?"

"No more games! If you resist arrest then you'll be deleted!"

"I didn't do that. You want a witness? Try asking Serenade!"

"S-Serenade? The Reverse King speaks to the likes of you bastard?"

"Of course he does! I'm innocent: someone's framing me!"

"What might this tumult be about? Gentlemen!"

"T-the Reverse King!"

"He has an alibi. Now: would I shelter a dangerous criminal just because I feel like it or…?"

"N-no, sir, yet…"

"Have you ever heard of "framing" and "imposters"?"

"W-well… But given the background…"

"You should care about facts instead! Right… Zero?"

Zero EXE, former Zero Virus, had been checking the Reverse Internet Boards when six Navis walked up to him with weapons drawn: he tried to dialogue but when they aimed the weapons at him he brought up Serenade's name: and Serenade himself showed up.

"Yeah. It's not like I did those things because I wished it. The "Professor" wanted me to. It's like saying a gun killed someone because they felt like it when it was a human the one who pressed the trigger." Zero fumed.

"So?" Serenade questioned.

"3-3 hours ago, sir… He supposedly broke there and stole the data while announcing that he was "Zero Virus – sama"…"

"Then that makes it clear it's an imposter because I am Zero _EXE_. I am a Net Navi and Hikari Yuuichirou – hakase can attest to it because he's the one who was able to convert me into a Net Navi to begin with. And I can guess who staged that. The "Witch - Queen of Angmar"… That's what she's been up to by keeping herself hidden." Zero grumbled.

"I can give you ample evidence proving that he's innocent. That villain is aiming for us to fight each other pointlessly and stir up further hatred in us… We'd be dancing to her flute's tune!"

"Yikes!"

"So go tell your Bosses this: you've been fooled by this villain! And she's the one who'll use that data against you so better think of some counter and quickly!" Serenade raised his voice's volume and he suddenly seemed to loom over them.

"R-roger!"

The six Navis ran off while both Zero and Serenade fumed: Zero resumed inspecting the board but at that moment a sword cut through the middle of it and moved up and down to split it into two: _another Zero_ having purple eyes, crimson hair and black armor showed up while making a taunting chuckle: the _real Zero_ immediately clashed with him and they began to struggle in the deadlock: Serenade gasped and the six officers looked on with obvious surprise.

"Weak." The imposter taunted.

"That's my motto." Zero taunted back.

"Inferior."

"Oh yeah? First-timer." He sarcastically shot back.

"Gambler."

"Gambler? Ever since when?"

"Cheater."

"Cheater in what, gambling? I don't gamble, you bastard."

"Deceiver."

"That's you."

"Die."

"You die."

Zero moved his sword around in a blur and drove into the imposter's neck but he turned out to be a hologram and the solid imposter appeared behind him: Zero merely jumped to the left to dodge and made a cut on the left flank of the imposter who ignored it and tried to drive his blade into Zero's right eye: he brought up his blade just in time and shot a surge of energy from his left hand at the imposter's face thus momentarily stunning him: Zero delivered a kick to his lower jaw and another to his right knee to drop him into the ground: the imposter warped and suddenly dropped down from above yet Zero shot the surge of energy at his face and he landed, hard, on the ground.

"So?" Zero taunted.

"Hah. Useless."

"Useless or not I won't stop until you flee or die."

"That's my mission."

"And that damned woman gave it to you."

"You'll regret insulting the Mistresses' pride."

"You'll regret making a fool of me." Zero icily told him.

"I'll destroy you!"

"Bring it on!"

The imposter rushed towards Zero while keeping the blade in front of his neck but Zero drove it into his right hip and the imposter was stopped on his tracks: Zero gripped his blade and applied energy to it thus shattering it and then pulling out his sword: the imposter looked at the broken blade and seemed to form a grimace ("seemed" because neither of them could change their facial expressions) upon seeing it.

"Damn it. But that won't be enough! Poison Knife!"

He morphed the right forearm into a normal hand and drew a knife the blade of which was colored purple: he attempted to drive it into Zero's chest but leapt into the air and fell down while kicking the imposter's face with both feet: the imposter lost balance and let go of the knife as he plunged past the border of the road and into the depths of the Reverse Internet: Zero fumed and headed towards Serenade.

"Weak and show-off. I don't see how he could decimate 80% of your numbers unless you just happen to be 10 guys." He told the officers while sounding skeptical.

"W-well… That's…" The lead one uttered.

"So?" Serenade questioned.

"T-true, sir!" He confessed.

"Jeez. Just 8 out of 10… You made it sound like there was manslaughter there! And you just couldn't coordinate well enough to stop him: or did he bring Viruses along? SP Viruses?" Zero grumbled.

"T-that's true, too…"

"Hmpf… And you call yourselves Pentagon security… I guess someone's being lazy with the security budget and being rather overconfident."

"I suspect this to be the case." Serenade folded his arms.

"W-we'll be going back…"

They ran off before they could be further scolded and both Navis looked annoyed.

"What poor imagination. To step into the enemy's traps… But that ain't the last we'll see of that imposter unless the woman decides to delete him in a fit of annoyance because he failed the mission."

"True. I'll tell Dark Man and Yamato Man to be on their toes in case he tries to come close to the Secret Area Entrance yet it's impossible for him to get in unless they grant him access to the real-world server room in the Urakawa _Onsen_ Inn…" Serenade muttered.

"Fine. See ya."

"Goodbye."

Both parted ways and Zero climbed up into the surface Internet to then head for the Science Labs Home Page which was still being repaired and refitted.

"CAN YOU BELIEVE IT? THEY ARE MAKING US DO EXTRA WORK!"

"BE SILENT, PLEASE! THIS IS IMPORTANT. WE MUST REPAIR IT!"

"I SWEAR: IF ANOTHER ATTACK COMES UP THEN LET THEM FIX IT BY THEIR OWN LAZY HANDS! REVOLUTION, MY BRETHEN!"

"BE QUIET, FRANK!"

Zero ignored the ramblings of a Program – kun with his two companions and sat on a corner of the area while looking at his blade and seemingly thinking.

_It's been a year since I became a Navi. I haven't done much but it'd seem I'll need to clean my name before I can start helping out… I'll destroy that imposter with my own hands! And we'll unmask that petty villain while banishing Nebula Grey from this world forever! Zero has spoken! Get ready, damned imposter!_

16:55 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Whoa. Sorry for the interruption but I got some news… Shirakami and Mr. Shade chased the woman and they almost got her but she escaped and set fire to a warehouse… And Zero just battled an imposter who tried to frame him!"

"Whoa! A Zero imposter? That's new! And we'd forgotten about Zero even though we'd met him last month…"

"Did Zero beat it?"

"No… He ended up falling deeper into the Reverse Internet. So unless the woman deletes him because he failed we'll be seeing him again sooner or later…"

"Can you continue? What happened on the first night of the trip to the island where the _Unicorn_ had sunk?"

"Oh yeah. Tintin settled a childish quarrel between the Siamese twin policemen and then found the Captain cursing that his whisky bottle was gone: Tintin found it amusing taking into account the medic's letter but Haddock didn't. He then headed for the cargo bay ready to open a box full of whisky…"

Copy Forte had been using the twins' PC to get some news and both sounded surprised (Saito was standing up by now) but Netto pressed him to continue his earlier narration.

"And he found a mouse?" Netto joked.

"Nope! He found something strange which he didn't like the looks of so he ran out and when to bang on Tintin's cabin door! "Vite, Tintin! Venez vite! Il n'ya pas une seconde à perdre! Nous allons sauter! Ill y a une machine infernale dans la cale!"… So?"

"Whoa! Hum… "Hurry it up, Tintin! Hurry it up and come! There's not a second to be waster! We've been sabotaged! There's a _bomb_ in the cargo bay!"… A bomb!" Saito gasped.

"Whoa! A bomb!"

"… "_Je suis descendu à la cale pour y ouvrir une caisse de whisky. Au lieu de whisky, j'y ai trouvé une machine infernale!_"… Heh, heh!"

"… "I went down to the cargo bay to open a box of whisky. But instead of the whisky, I found a bomb!"… Yikes!"

"… "_Nous y sommes… Attention! C'est ici… Regardez… Attention! N'approchez pas!_"… Feeling the tension, guys?"

"… "Here we are… Attention! Here it is… Look out… Attention! Don't approach it!"… Tintin – san wanted to come closer?"

"… "_Au contraire, il faut savoir à quoi s'entenir_"…"

"… "On the contrary: it's better to check it out"…"

"… "_Eh bien?_"..."

"Wait, wait! Does that mean… "So?"…?" Netto deduced.

"… "_Des tôles!_"… Heh, heh, heh!"

"E~H? "Steel plates!"… Steel plates? And he thought it was a bomb, then?" Saito was baffled.

"The poor lighting and finding it inside of the whisky crate… "_Des tôles? Vous avez raison, ma parole! Mais alors, ce n'est pas une machine infernale?_"…"

"… My, my… "Steel plates? You're right, bless me! But then… This isn't a bomb?" Saito looked intrigued.

"… "_Sûrement pas. Voyons, ouvrons une autre caisse"_…"

"… "Surely not. See, let's open another box."… And what was inside? More steel plates?" Saito deduced.

"… "_Encore des tôles, mille sabords_!"…"

"… "Steel plates again, a thousand blistering barnacles!"…"

"… "_Et dans celle-ci_"…"

"Hum… "And over here"… Steel plates too?"

"… "_Encore des tôles! Enfer et damnation! Ill n'y a plus une goutte de whisky à bord! Ah! Si je tenais le misérable qui nous a joué ce tour, il passerait un mauvais quart d'heure!_"… Let's stop here."

"… "Steel plates again! Hell and damnation! There's not a single drop of whisky onboard! Ah! If I found the miserable who staged this they're gonna spend a sour quarter of an hour!"… Sour quarter of an hour? That's a first!" Saito grinned.

"Since I don't wanna take the whole day… The next day they found out that the plates had been brought in by Professor Tournessol who'd snuck into one life-boat… They did find the island and the remains of the ship thanks to the submarine yet the treasure didn't turn out. And in the end it happened to be on a _chateau_ the King had granted the Chevalier, hidden within a stone Earth… Thanks to the government buying his submarine then the Professor was so kind to pay for the buying of the _chateau_ to where they moved given how it had belonged to the Captain's antecessor in the first place…" He summarized.

"So the submarine turned out to be helpful in the end!"

"And the Professor moved with them?"

"Sure. Since the _chateau_ had many rooms… But there was always the problem of miscommunications given his hard-of-hearing trait… Yet it's a fun album. Oh yeah! There's a scene in which they're trying to spot the island yet the Captain didn't do the location calculations right enough so the Siamese twins redid them and showed them to him. "_Vous avez raison… Je m'étais trompé… Messieurs, veuillez vous découvrir…_"… Heh, heh!" He grinned.

"Huh… "You are right. I've made a mistake. Gentlemen, please uncover yourselves." … Huh? Why?"

"… "_Pourquoi faut-il se découvrir, capitaine? Je…_"…"

"… Eh… "Why do we have to uncover, Captain? We…"…"

"There's a silence and Haddock seems to pray: he then fixes the cap before putting it on again. "_Et voilà_…" …"

"… "There."… There… What?"

"… "_Mais enfin, capitaine, nous direz-vous ce que cela signifie?"_…"

"… "But… Well, Captain. Will you tell us what that meant?"…"

"… That they had to pay for the lunch!" Netto laughed.

"… "_Cela signifie, Messieurs, que, selon vos calculs, nous nous trouvons en ce moment dans la basilique de St-Pierre, a Rome!_"… Heh, heh!"

"… "The meaning of this, Gentlemen, is that, according to your calculations, we currently are within St. Peter's basilica in Rome!"… So it was his way of saying that they'd done them wrong too? Or he didn't want to admit that he was mistaken?"

"Guess the second one… His mistake was that he'd picked the Greenwich meridian to do his calculations but in times of the Chevalier he'd used the Paris one… There's a distance of about 10 grades eastwards between one and the other and such they'd gone too far to the west. They did correct that… And in the island they found remains of cannibal tribes and one fetish carved in the image of the Chevalier which they brought back along with the figurehead and other _souvenirs_… Heh, heh! And the Capt'n had a little vengeance on the Le Dépêche guys…"

"Yeah? What was it?" Netto asked.

"Simple! When a reporter came to take note he excused himself and let him alone with the Prof introducing him as his secretary: and given the Professor's hearing trouble the reporter ended up leaving the guy confused and with only speculation as basis… Haddock looked on with a grin from close by too…" He laughed.

"Terrific. And it really didn't hurt so he was being fair."

"In fact the island was populated with parrots which had passed down the Chevalier's vocabulary and were constantly yelling it around: before they found them out the Siamese twins though the island was haunted! Talk about a fright!" Copy Forte told them next.

"Sure thing…"

"… Hmmm? Mail… From Barrel… Check it out, guys."

"Alright. "To all defenders of the Science Labs: tomorrow we will switch the teams and reinforce each one before tackling the Angband fortress again: the "Witch-Queen" is there with Freeze Man and a newly created imposter of Zero. They're brewing something up but they can't stop us from coming through the main shaft and haven't been able to retake the upper levels… This can be a very decisive strike so rest early and be fresh: the attack will be started at 10 o'clock AM. Barrel." … Whoa! Good! So we can hit them in a decisive manner… Good!" Netto read.

"Yeah. It's about time we pushed them to the edge. And this time we're going to halt them. I'm going there: nothing's gonna scare me anymore, I swear!" Saito muttered.

"Alright… What are ya gonna do?"

"Hmmm… I dunno if Original is gonna find the way there and I guess he is so to stay off trouble I'll remain in Japan. My power should be able to help out. I guess Shirakami will want to settle the score with that woman who ditched him twice already." Copy Forte decided.

"Alright, then. See ya around."

"O. K.! Hey, Rock Man! Make them do 100 flexions in 5 minutes! _No pain no gain_! Heh, heh, heh!"

Copy Forte came out and Saito didn't seem to like the joke but he shrugged it while Netto grinned.

"Well then! Time to flip the flipping flipper!"

"Huh? What the heck? What does that mean, Netto?"

"Trade secret, Saito – niisan!" Netto grinned.

"Fine. I'll find out sooner or later, yet… The final battle is upon us!"

"True. Time to settle the score!"

_The Hikari Brothers are gonna come to settle the score! Get ready, "Witch - Queen of Angmar" and Nebula Grey!_


	21. Chapter 21: Collapse

**Chapter 21: Collapse**

04:55 AM (Norway Time), Thursday August the 12th…

"… Here we are, going down towards the core…"

"Finally… The decisive battle…!"

Rock Man, Blues, Shadow Man and Search Man were descending with the elevator towards the bowels of Angband from where the noises of battle were ringing out.

"What are we facing?" Shadow Man asked.

"From Knight Man's, Napalm Man's and Meddy's reports… A lot of Uruk – Hai plus two Balrogs… Freeze Man is also picking on them while moving around so we should try to use Elec-type Battle Chips to deal with the bothersome guy." Blues briefed them.

"By the way… Did Grand and Kanou Shade come too?"

"They're on the surface turrets trying to download a full map of the facility so that he can try to find out where those Uruk – Hai came outta from: and the damned woman is on the overseeing room and looking down on us as if we were football players." Blues growled.

"Hmpf! The fool must think she's got the VIP box!"

"Yeah. That's why we've come to take them down. I'm sure that that pendant is important so let's target it, Netto – kun." Rock Man called out to Netto.

"Roger!"

"Get ready! We're less than 30 seconds away from touch-down. We gotta try to ignore the rubbish and focus on the big foes. Then we can go tackle that woman." Blues ordered as he drew his Long Blade.

"Go, Search Man!"

"Shadow Man. Do it."

"Do your best, Blues!"

The elevator descended in the middle of the fray and the four of them leapt out before it shot upwards again: they began to fight all of the Uruk – Hai while Rock Man spotted Freeze Man summoning Ice Towers to try to hit Napalm Man.

"He's trying to knock Napalm Man out first!"

"Go, Rock Man! Program Advance! Elec Pulse 1, Elec Pulse 2, Elec Pulse 3! Program Advance! Destroy Pulse!" Netto announced.

"O. K.!"

Rock Man leapt towards Freeze Man's back and shot the Program Advance at him thus inflicting major damage plus an HP bug: Freeze Man growled and turned around before warping and appearing in front of Rock Man trying to punch his face but Rock Man turned off his jetpack's jet engines and dropped into a balcony.

"You bastard! Come here so that I can destroy you!"

"Catch me firstly! But that Program Advance took out 800 of your total 1400 HP!" Rock Man taunted.

"Let's go for more! Air Hockey, Triple Slot In! Program Advance! Hell Hockey! Go~!" Netto exclaimed.

"Hrah!"

"Ugrwa~h!"

"You'd lost 50 HP due to the bug and this inflicts 400 HP of damage per hit: you lose 450 HP out of your remaining 600! And here it comes again: eat this!" Rock Man exclaimed.

"Grwa~h! But I have Under Shirt…! I can still fight!"

"Freeze Man. Stop." "Witch-Queen of Angmar" called out through a speaker from the overseeing room.

"Mistress." He made a reverence.

"Go Room B33 and use "it"… Then come back."

"Your will!"

"Rock Man! I'm fed up with your interloping! Come and face me: I'll grant you a doom worse than death!" She challenged.

"You've asked for it!"

Rock Man leapt towards the room which still had the hole in the ceiling from the other day and jumped inside: a barrier closed up the hole and the villain had formed "Grudge Flames" around her which were circling and dancing in a pattern.

"What… Is that supposed to be hypnotism?" Netto skeptically asked without looking surprised.

"Hypnotism? You fool! This is agony itself! You felt them back when you firstly fought my Lord some months ago… But this time nothing will save you from them: they shall corrode all of you!" She exclaimed.

"My bad. But there's enough with just one "reverse side" Rock Man. Program Advance! Yo-yo, Triple Slot In! Yoyo Great!" A familiar voice rang out close by.

The viewing window shattered and the combination of Yoyos hit the woman from behind thus leaving some cuts on her robe: she cursed and turned around to face Shirakami.

"Sorry for the hold-up. I had to fight off Uruk-Hai dropping into the elevator from newly opened tunnels." He apologized.

"Good! Let's settle the score… Program Advance! Fire Punch 3, Aqua Needle 3, Elec Pulse 3, Risky Honey 3!"

"MASTER CROSS!"

"Not bad." Shirakami grinned as he suddenly turned invisible.

"M-master Cross…?" She gasped.

"Yeah! Our most powerful Program Advance!"

"Eat this!"

Rock Man switched to Ground Cross and hit the enemy with his drills catching her unaware: he quickly picked Heat Cross and bathed the villain in flames from his flamethrower: Tomahawk Cross came up next and he swung the tomahawk to hit her necklace making a crack on it: Slash Cross spun around and hit her pendant once again: and Killer Cross shot the "Killer Death Beam" at her: finally, Rock Man split into another two and the combinations of Heat, Tomahawk and Ground Cross bombarded the whole room with a volley of Charge Shot thus finally shattering the pendant and making the robe shine as purplish energy leapt out of it and a blinding flash covered the area.

"DAMN YOU~!"

"Finally…! We get to see that woman's true colors!" Netto muttered.

"I don't care who they really are: I'll bring them down!"

The flash died to reveal something rather unexpected: the three of them gasped in surprise.

"I see! So that's why!" Rock Man exclaimed.

"Damn you! My barrier-generating cloth and control device…!"

"So the pendant was the control device!" Shirakami muttered.

"Then… That time at the deepest point of the Nebula Hole Area…?" Netto wondered aloud.

"We got tricked." Rock Man replied.

"Isn't this somewhat ironic?" Shirakami commented.

"Damn you! Damn you! DAMN YOU~!"

"Totally ironic, yeah." Netto muttered.

"We should've seen it coming from Nebula Grey!"

"Hah, hah, hah… What foolish damned people! I laugh at such foolishness which leads you bastards down the road of self-destruction!"

"Speaking of the devil…!"

"Good job insofar, my servant… _Meddy DS_!"

The "Witch-Queen of Angmar" happened to be a purple-colored version of Meddy with purplish transparent shades.

Her hair was black as well and her eyes irises' were golden thus displaying pure hatred.

Her emblem had been replaced for the drawing of a "Dark Flame" instead of her usual drawing.

The reddish patterns on her bodysuit were now pitch-black and the "skin" was tinted in a blood red coloring.

The purple-colored "Quick Man" was standing behind her and grinning.

"So THAT's why you hate Meddy! You're her opposite!" Netto realized.

"And you despised "bonds" too so you tried to cut them off by doing that to Roll – chan!" Rock Man cursed.

"Hmpf! So what? You've inflicted 600 HP of damage with that Program Advance and 400 from the other… My total HP clocks at 4000 points! You've only depleted a fourth of my HP! The nightmare is starting!"

"So there you are! You won't run away this time! Gun del Sol 1, Gun del Sol 2, Gun del Sol 3! Pile Driver! Let's go… Otenko – sama!"

"Yeah, Django!"

"Whoa!"

"_Taiyo~_!"

"MUWRA~RGH! YOU… THE "SOLAR MAN"… DJANGO…!"

"Not "man" but "boy"! Learn some vocabulary, freak!"

Django and Otenko had suddenly come in and they assaulted the material form of "Nebula Grey" from behind using the "Pile Driver".

"Let's help them too Rock Man! Shirakami! Handle that woman!"

"Delighted! Hrah!"

Shirakami tackled Meddy DS and they warped out of the room while Rock Man heard Netto rushing somewhere and stopping: a PING rang out and Rock Man merely nodded to show that he was ready.

"Let's go! Program Advance! Gun del Sol 1, Gun del Sol 2, Gun del Sol 3! Pile Driver! Solar Sensor: on! Today's a bright unclouded August day and I've got a ton of sunlight here! _Taiyo_~!"

"_Taiyo_~!"

Rock Man formed his "Pile Driver" too and it began to emit amplified and concentrated sunlight into the purple "Quick Man" who was beginning to break apart and reveal the core, "Nebula Grey" itself, the "Dark Flame" inside of his body which was also breaking down: it suddenly broke down into raw data and vanished.

"We did it!" Rock Man exclaimed.

"Yeah! I'm sure we caught the guy off-guard! We'd been monitoring his movements for a while!" Django grinned.

"And thus another evil goes down! All that's left is the pawn…"

"How is it going, Shirakami?"

"Well… Not too hard but not too easy either. This woman is persistent in trying to inflict status ailments into me: but I can tackle that."

"Damn you! Die!"

"Insofar I've taken out about 800 HP so she's lost 1800 HP…"

"Mistress! Do you need help?" Freeze Man asked.

"Don't get in the way! Delete Rock Man!"

"Roger!"

"Coming, Netto – kun!" Rock Man tensed.

"Battle Operation, Set!"

"In!"

"Be frozen!"

"You be gone!"

Freeze Man showed up in front of Rock Man and formed the carcass of ice to shield his body: Rock Man simply threw an Earthquake Virus there and it shattered the carcass yet the Freeze Man inside was a fake: the real one showed up from behind and Rock Man barely dodged his five _shuriken_ which hit the floor.

"This guy's HP has gone up to 2000 points! But if we've taken out gigantic enemies having 2000 HP too then we can take this one out!"

"Dream on, Hikari Netto! Thanks to the "Dark Power" now I am invincible and all-powerful!" He laughed.

"Jeez. I'm fed up with hearing that same talk wherever I go to! Program Advance! Blues SP, Navi Scout, Colonel! Slot In! Twin Leaders!"

"Fight on, Colonel!"

Blues and Colonel formed on the field and attacked Freeze Man: he moved around in a blur and inflicted three Wide Sword attacks while Colonel formed a cross and attacked with his saber before they vanished: Freeze Man growled.

"Damn! 600 HP of damage… But that won't be enough!"

"Folder Back, Slot In!"

"Let's go, Netto – kun!"

"Oh yeah! Let's go! Wide Blade, Long Blade, Blues SP! Slot In! Program Advance! Double Hero!"

"Lend us power, Blues!"

A copy of Blues formed and both of them charged up before bombarding Freeze Man with a volley of Charge Shots and Sonic Booms.

"I-impossible… I haven't even begun attacking and they've inflicted me 1200 HP of damage! Guo~h! Antarctic Stage~!"

"Coming!"

Freeze Man released his power and purplish clouds formed all around the room: the whole ground turned into purplish ice and purplish hail began to rain down along with raw purple snow: all Navis and enemies standing on the ground were trapped inside of ice clusters yet Rock Man hovered thanks to his jets: and Meddy DS plus Shirakami were engaged in an airborne battle so it didn't affect them either: Freeze Man roared as his body colors began to change into purple and his lidless eyes turned red as well: he laughed in a victorious tone.

"Heh… Heh, heh… I did it… I did it…! My power has increased! The "Dark Power" has made me be the best commander of Angband! Forever serving our Mistress!" He laughed.

"There's only one way to stop him! Program Advance! Django, Django V2, Django V3! Slot In! Cross Over!"

"What!"

A replica of Django (the real one had been trapped inside of the ice mass along with Otenko – sama) formed behind Freeze Man: he drew the Gun del Sol and began to attack Freeze Man with hit while Rock Man backed him up with Charge Shots: both then drew Long Sword and attacked in an X formation thus dealing further damage to Freeze Man who had been caught in the middle of their combined attack: Freeze Man roared as the purple energy began to fly out of him and disperse thus returning his body to normal and making him collapse into the ground: given his lack of power the effects of his earlier attack began to die out.

"Che! Useless servant… Come! Black Doom!"

"Rock Man! Behind you!"

Rock Man quickly drew a Long Blade and clashed with the imposter Zero who'd come up from behind.

"You're Zero's imposter!"

"An improvement over that weakling, you mean to say."

"What improvement? You're cheap!"

While both of them fought Grand suddenly came in and walked over to Freeze Man who was lying unconscious in the ground.

"Is this the guy, Hack?"

"Yeah… Freeze Man. Awaken. Code Beta…"

"Code Beta…! I remember that…! It couldn't be!" Freeze Man managed to lift his head and seemed to have realized something.

A holographic screen formed into the air and it displayed Obihiro Shun's face: he didn't seem to have changed in the one year interval ever since the disbanding of "Gospel" and he looked sad.

"Freeze Man… I haven't stopped thinking about you. You were my Navi whom I'd customized into this form… Grand here makes me remember the times before "Gospel" began… I'm trying to make up for my sins. What will you do? Your "Mistress" has just replaced you for that imposter over there…" He told him.

"Gospel… Shuryou…!"

"No. Gospel Shuryou is dead. I'm Obihiro Shun. Now and forever."

"Obihiro – sama…! I shall… come along thou."

"I'm not forcing you. This isn't an order. You're free to decide your path in life, Freeze Man. I'm just a normal citizen now."

"… I understand, but… I can still remember how you were before, the kind person you used to be…" He muttered.

"Alright… Then come: I'm sure you and Grand will form a good team. I got permission from Barrel – san to do this. And I'm sure Hikari would appreciate it… I don't think he can hear us now: he's busy enough battling that guy…" Obihiro muttered as he glanced at the fray.

"I'm Grand. Let's get along, Freeze Man – _senpai_."

"_Senpai_…? It sounds… good. Yes… I'll be your _senpai_…"

"Sorry for the holdup. You Carnival punk. I'm your opponent."

"So the failed prototype came."

"What failed prototype? You're the failed prototype!"

The real Zero jumped inside of the room through the broken viewing window and tackled his imposter who taunted him but Zero was too clever to fall for that: Rock Man stepped back and looked out at the fight between Shirakami and Meddy DS.

"What's the situation like, Shirakami?"

"Good enough… I've taken out about 3500 HP using Program Advances and combination attacks… She's inflicted about 850 HP to me out of my 1000 HP but I've got some healing Battle Chips saved up."

"_Nice_!" Netto grinned.

"Blues! Do you need help?" Rock Man asked.

"No! We're already done here. The Uruk – Hai suddenly seemed to chicken out and have fled: I guess that the woman was pouring her malice into them in the form of radio signals but she's now concentrating on fighting Shirakami so… The Balrogs are liquidated too." Blues replied.

"Man! That attack a while ago sure was powerful!"

"Oh yeah! Freeze Man! Where'd he go?" Netto wondered.

"Hum… I took him back." Obihiro admitted.

"Obihiro Shun! I hadn't seen you ever since you came to visit Papa at the hospital following the aftermath of Hinoken's attack on the Science Labs during the Proto Incident!" Netto gasped.

"Yeah, I know… I wanted to try to do beneficial things and I was approached by Mr. Shade who had a need of my hacker skills to help him root out the villains behind the red light district's illegal clubs… And I came up with the nickname "Hack" on the spot… Hack, from hacker…"

"I see. And Grand is your new Navi." Rock Man muttered.

"True… But now I've managed to retrieve Freeze Man and he's going to pay for his sins too…" He formed a weak smile.

"Whoa! Cool!" Netto whistled in surprise.

"Before you ask, Ijuuin Enzan… I authorized that. And the ONBA Chief agreed with me. I've got his signed permission." Barrel told Enzan as if expecting the question.

"Ah. Fine."

"Your short-lived reign will end here, "Witch - Queen of Angmar"!"

"No! My Lord's Empire will last forever!"

"Yeah. All tyrants say the same: look at Darth Sidious and how his "Galactic Empire" only lasted 25 years." Shirakami was unimpressed.

"Come! "Grudge Flames"! I am a moving self-generating source of "Dark Power"! You can't defeat me by mere weapons!"

She threw the "Grudge Flames" at Shirakami but he simply shot a Wide Shot Battle Chip to put them out: Meddy DS got a twitch over her right eye and began to get annoyed.

"You've lost 3800 HP out of 4000 HP and I just healed 300 so I still have 500 HP." Shirakami calmly told her.

"Try it!"

"Very well, then. Gun del Sol 3!"

"Kyra~h!"

Shirakami drew Django's weapon and hit her with it: she fell and crashed in the roof of the overseeing room while Rock Man aimed his Rock Buster at her: she suddenly stood up and began to pulsate with "Dark Power" while a purple-colored tornado formed around her.

"The "Dark Tornado" can't be destroyed! You won't be able to go for the finishing blow! Zero chance!"

"All can be destroyed." Rock Man simply countered.

"… Saito – niisan… Are you gonna go for it?" Netto seemed to guess what he intended to do.

"Yeah. It's the only way." He calmly replied.

"Very well then… But we're always linked, right? Let's pour our strength together!" Netto smiled.

Rock Man's chest emblem began to pulsate with bluish light at a very quick pace and his bodysuit began to be surrounded by cyan light as it began to fade away: a powerful brightness emitted from his body and he closed his eyes as the last of the bodysuit faded away thus revealing his glowing body.

"That form…! Impossible…!" Meddy DS gasped.

"This is my true form: my persona, my power… The powers I receive from all those I believe into… Now… I shall use them to defeat you and end this senseless war! In the name of justice!" He exclaimed.

He extended his right hand forward and energy began to enter the tornado which began to glow blue and white before fading away: a spheroid of pure whiteness formed in the air and hit Meddy DS: she shrieked as the "Dark Power" left her in the form of an evil "face" yet Django quickly attacked it with his "Gun del Sol" to dispel it: Meddy DS collapsed into the ground with wounds opening across her body and looking like she was about to be deleted.

"… Ugh… D-damn it… Gragh… The barrier-generating suit and necklace I got from _him_… From our _collaborator_… The Evil Empire of Nebula Grey – sama… The great fortress of Angband… All of my designs… They're gonna end here…?" She muttered while sounding annoyed.

"What? She didn't make that thing up?" Netto frowned.

"Who are you talking about?" Saito demanded.

"Heh… Heh, heh… H-him… _That person_… _To… wa…_!"

She suddenly shrieked as her body began to emit bursts of energy and it detonated in a brutal explosion.

"M-Mistress!" The imposter Zero gasped.

"You're over."

"Damn! I'll remember this!"

He suddenly warped out of the room and Zero fumed: a silence began to grow in the room and they realized that the brightness was increasing and that sunlight was entering through the shaft.

"T-the clouds are breaking up! The sun is shining!" A watchman reported over the radio.

"With the deletion of the site's admin the environment returns to default status but this place won't be deleted…" Obihiro muttered.

"… To… wa…?" Saito wondered while looking suspicious.

"I do not know." Kanou Shade admitted.

"I think she intended to say more but didn't make it on time." Netto deduced with a grave look to him.

"Yeah. I suddenly feel like all of our struggles have been in vain because there's someone who will continue what she began." Enzan grimly muttered.

Saito's bodysuit regenerated and he collapsed into the ground, obviously worn out: Django tended to him and picked him.

"Guess we all need some rest. For the time being both Nebula Grey and that villain are over." Django suggested.

"Yeah. What will you, Kanou Shade?" Blues asked him.

"I'll go hunting. I don't like the sounds of it: designing such a system is not easy. And if someone cooperated with them willingly then they must be quite wicked. Maybe they look up to what Dr. Regal did and desire to continue what they did…" Kanou Shade admitted.

"Yet… Who could it be? This "Towa" guy…?" Netto wondered.

A lingering silence was imposed broken only by the howling of the wind…


	22. Chapter 22: Conspiracy

**Chapter 22: Conspiracy**

15:45 PM (Japan Time), Thursday August the 12th…

"… So… They're gone? They're not going to come for me?"

"No, Meiru. They're gone. And they can't come back.

"Thank goodness… I've felt so terrified…"

"Anyone would've."

Netto had come to visit and Meiru and tell her the good news: she looked like she'd shaken a heavy burden off her.

"Anyway! Cheer up! Middle school begins next month. They say it's an adventure! Heh, heh, heh!"

"Beware, Netto… They get stricter with the punctuality topic…" She made a smirk.

"Yikes." Netto gasped.

"Caught ya." She began to look amused.

"Man." Netto rolled his eyes.

"Heh, heh, heh. You're predictable. I'm sure you're going to ask your mom to prepare curry for dinner." Meiru guessed.

"Actually we already had the curry as lunch." Netto confessed.

"Heh! I knew it. So, what are Yaito – chan and Dekao – kun doing?"

"Huh? Dekao? He helped out along with Yaito in assaulting the enemy's home base and survived being pitted against terrifically powerful Net Navis too! They've improved a lot!" Netto smiled.

"O~i~! Netto~!"

"Hikari – kun!"

"Speaking of the guys…!"

"Let's go out."

They both came out and were greeted by Dekao and Yaito who were pretty animated.

"Yo! Netto! So you beat the big bad gal!" Dekao grinned.

"Hah! That gal was ugly." Yaito exclaimed.

"Guts! De guts! We won! Guts!"

"We sure did."

"Hiya~! Been a while~!" Roll greeted them.

"Roll – chan, guts!"

"Roll – san, welcome back."

Roll greeted Guts Man and Glyde while having a broad smile on her face: both looked relieved to see her again.

"Where's Rock?"

"Resting at the Science Labs… He had to pull a lot of Program Advances and all of his power into the battle!"

"Do excuse me."

"Ah! Kanou – san!"

"Who…?"

Kanou Shade walked up to them and stopped next to Netto who greeted him with a smile.

"There is just one quick question… What happened to the fake Zero? I didn't find data remains of him."

"He fled when he saw how his almighty Mistress had fallen. But I don't think he's worrisome at all given his cocky attitude. He'll end up stumbling upon Zero again: and Zero will beat the guy!"

"Hum. I see. Sadly, I haven't discovered anything about "Towa" yet. I guess he stays out of the usual spots and he rather acts on his own. But I'll end up finding something. Goodbye."

"Who was that man, Netto?"

"Oh, Kanou – san. He's a mister who can find out a lot of stuff and helps us out from time to time." Netto smiled.

"Hum. Interesting!" Yaito smiled.

"He had a strange presence…" Meiru muttered.

"You're over-reacting, Meiru!"

"H-hello."

"Obihiro!"

"Oh! I remember this guy!"

"Obihiro – kun, right?"

"Been a while!"

Obihiro walked up to them while looking slightly nervous: he kept on sporting his usual combination of clothes and carried a notebook PC under his right arm plus a backpack: his PET was colored in the same combination of colors Grand had plus his emblem symbol.

"So, you've been doing jobs by request?"

"Yeah… I did have a look at several boards and help fulfill requests but I used different aliases… "Hack" is one I invented the other day… It came out of the blue." He timidly admitted.

"Say! Why don't we go to have some ice-cream?"

"Yoho~! Count me in!"

"I-ice cream…? Well…" Obihiro trailed off.

"Settled, right? Let's go!"

They headed for a nearby ice-cream café and picked their favorite ice-creams while sitting in the terrace.

"Yum! Delicious!"

16:04 PM (Japan Time)…

"… So everyone has returned to their daily stuff… Feels like what happened back in March… But you're not going anywhere this time, right, Mr. Barrel?"

"No. I'm settling here."

Enzan and Barrel were talking inside of the emptied Science Labs Command Room: Enzan looked somewhat sad while Barrel was shrugging his shoulders.

"This time you'll admit that it feels lonely?"

"Guess so."

"Hmpf… Speaking of cloaks… Did you get inspired by those two when you had Blues go around with a cloak during the Cybeast Incident?"

"What? Eh… Well… Maybe…" He scratched the back of his head.

"Heh. Anyway… You know where to find me."

"Yeah. I know. I'm going to check on Blues."

"Good luck."

"Thanks."

Enzan came out and spotted Meijin sipping his usual _cappuccino_ while the staff worked as usual: he came out into the lobby and climbed to the first floor to then ride into the elevator and reach Yuuichirou's lab: he was working with two assistants on the Navis' repairs.

"Ah! Ijuuin – kun. The repairs are progressing normally and they should be finished by the evening. But I guess Rock Man will need more time to be fully repaired… Shirakami also tired himself a lot given his prolonged battle with the villain too…" Yuuichirou smiled at him.

"Thank you for your hard work, sir."

"Don't mind it: that's our job anyway. But let me give you one piece of advice: don't try to push yourself."

"I know, sir. I'll try to do my best but without pushing myself."

"That's better."

"Huh? I don't see Zero there."

"No. He was pretty fresh so he's gone off to try to chase his lookalike and stop him before he can come up with something."

"Obviously… Being the hyperactive guy he is…" He laughed.

"I'll transfer Blues to your PET once the repairs are over. Have a good morning."

"Thank you, sir."

Enzan came out and found Laika waiting in the lobby.

"Repairs are gonna be done in the evening." He reported.

"I knew that." Laika immediately replied.

"Huh? Then what? You want something outta me?"

"Just a little curiosity…" Laika told him.

"… Oi, oi…" Enzan directed a skeptical look at him as if he suspected what Laika was going to ask.

"… Do you know how to contact Kanou Shade?"

"Huh? Well… No. He's never given us any fixed number. I dunno if Mr. Barrel still keeps his number from some months ago but I guess he changed it already…" Enzan admitted.

"I see…"

"What… You mistrust him? Hasn't he helped us enough? Or you wanna cross-interrogate him?" Enzan fumed.

"Perhaps."

"Oh man. You're so stubborn… I'm off!"

"You may end up regretting it one of these days, Ijuuin."

16:13 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Phew… I think I'm safe here. They think this area is deserted anyway and they won't bother to come down here… I still can't believe it: the Mistress was defeated? That Rock Man gnat! Who is that guy! He suddenly glows and without physically attacking dissolves the indestructible tornado and makes the "Dark Power" come out!"

"Heh, heh, heh… Rock Man, you say? I know a lot about him. He is a unique Net Navi but I don't think you'd get the point."

"W-who?"

"Call me "T"…"

"T?"

"Indeed. I am the one who granted your Mistress the miniature energy system in the form of the necklace plus the cloak which could generate powerful barriers… I pursue her same ideals."

"You pursue the same ideals…"

"Correct. Would like new abilities? Would you desire new power to defeat the red eyesore?"

"I do! I don't mind being your servant: I want it!"

The imposter Zero had been lurking around Black Earth when a tall figure (a meter and eighty more or less) approached him while wearing a cloak with hood colored in a dull grey color, similar to Meddy DS, and having a necklace with the Greek word "Thanatos" colored purple and set against a black background.

"Then follow me. There is work to do and time will be needed yet in the end we shall be able to continue this work… And I shall be able to settle some personal scores of mine… Heh, heh, heh."

"Hmpf… Heh, heh, heh. You sound amusing, _Boss_… I guess it's a good idea to tag along you… Heh, heh, heh…"

Both chuckled in a low tone of voice…

16:48 PM (Japan Time)…

"… And rolling a rolling roll goes the roller rolling of rolls…"

"Yo! Cosplaying niichan! Ya have some good stuff today too?"

"Oh yeah. Come inside and have a look."

Copy Forte (having his Navi bodysuit and helmet) had been cleansing some Battle Chips before placing them on the cases again and humming a tune when three 5th grade students came in.

"Where's the purple niichan?"

"He went to see his cousin."

"Is there a bargain bin?"

"Yeah. There, next to the 2nd shelf."

"Wow! Cannons at good price… I need them to try this Program Advance I'm researching into! I pick 3!" One student exclaimed as he rummaged into the bargain bin.

"Good." Copy Forte hummed a tune.

"Here's the pay: see ya, niichan!"

"Come anytime." He invited.

"Yahoo! I found the Gun del Sol 3 Battle Chip! Now I have the three of them! The say they're cool!" Another student exclaimed.

"They sure are." Copy Forte assured him with a grin.

"Good! I found the Hell's Burner 3! Heh, heh, heh! The name's catchy, yeah!" The third student chuckled.

The other two students paid as well and came out while Copy Forte resumed whistling a tune.

_Heh! Ironies of life, I know. But who cares? We're fine like this so we don't aim for anything big or bad… However, I'm still picked about that "Towa" guy whoever he is… What will the guy do and when?_

16:57 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Hmpf… No matter how much I try my body won't allow me to absorb "Dark Power" anymore and stepping into that "Nebula Hole Area" or into "Black Earth" is toxic to my body too… Guess I'll go explore new territories and try to grow stronger… While chasing that clown too! I'll destroy that clown. And I'll be the absolute!"

"Original" Forte was roaming around the lower levels of the Reverse Internet while muttering aloud: he spotted a pack of strong Viruses and quickly jumped into the fray.

"Hell's Buster! Dark Arm Blade!"

He quickly deleted the Viruses and extended his right hand.

"Get Ability Program!"

He absorbed their data and processed it to form some black and golden colored bombs: he threw them against a dead end road and peeled off its outer layer: "Original" Forte laughed.

"Good! I can now amplify the original power tenfold! Like this the clown won't stand a chance. I'll travel to foreign lands. Gain power. And then beat the clown, the imitator and that gnat which got in my way too many times already…!" He eagerly exclaimed.

He ran off while laughing yet he failed to notice Dark Man floating high in the air and looking towards him.

"Kush, kush… No good, no good. We'll have to tell that guy to stay out of the Cyber World for a while and try to come up with an alias to hide their store or this guy is gonna blow everything up…Kush, kush… I should go report to Serenade – sama… Kush, kush…"

He flew away yet he didn't spot the imposter Zero (AKA Black Doom) lurking behind a pile of debris: he made a hollow chuckle.

"So that's how it is… There are two of them! Maybe Master T will be interested in this piece of news… I'll go bring him immediately… And one day I'll defeat that defective… Get ready… Zero!"

20:20 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Fua~h… I'm home…"

"Yo! Saito – niisan. Feeling refreshed?"

"On the contrary… I feel beaten!"

"No wonder! You're the one who did his best!"

"Don't worry about the household chores, dear… You're tired and you'd only be pushing yourself. That won't do. So go and rest."

"Alright… I'll pick the sofa and…"

"There's no need for that, Saito – niisan! We can share the bed. I'm sure we both fit there."

"I think the same thing. The sofa is a last resource. It's always better to sleep on a bed."

Saito had come back home and he looked about to fall asleep at any second now: he began to head for the sofa but Netto stood up from his chair and headed over to him while Haruka smiled.

"Huh… Well… If you say so… Eh… I'll pick a pair of spare pajamas from you, Netto… Sorry for the trouble… Fua~h…" He yawned.

"Heh, heh! The Sleeping Prince!"

"Jeez…"

Saito headed upstairs while Haruka served Netto three spring rolls with sauce and some noodles: Netto grinned.

"_Itadakimasu_~!"

He began to eat while Haruka also ate her dish: Netto was soon finished and looked satisfied.

"So, Netto. I received a letter from the middle school with the list of material you need to buy. You and your friends could go tomorrow and acquire it." Haruka told him.

"Alright, alright. I'll have yoghurt as desserts. Do you want yoghurt too, Mama?"

"No. I'll have an apple."

"Fine."

Netto headed for the fridge and picked yoghurt to which he applied two spoonfuls of sugar and then returned to the table where Haruka was peeling an apple and cutting it into pieces.

"Hmmm! Delicious. Well then, I'll help clean up a bit."

"Thank you, dear!"

Netto picked the stuff and washed it before setting the dishes, spoon, knife and fork plus the glass cup into the washing machine: he then stretched and picked a broom to cleanse the kitchen's ground while he hummed a tune.

"Heh! I guess Higure – san must be training with his broom to challenge Copy Forte again." He joked.

He finished cleansing and stored the broom on its place.

"Night, Mama!"

"Sleep well! Don't bother Saito!"

"Of course not!"

Netto rushed upstairs and slowly opened his bedroom's door to see Saito already sleeping on his bed: Netto grinned and calmly changed into his pajamas before bringing the clothes to be washed to the basket and then set up an alarm on his PET.

"Good. All ready for tomorrow…"

He climbed into the bed slowly and lowered the covers: he looked at Saito's sleeping face at his left and smiled.

_Good night, Saito – niisan. I'm sure that what's left of our summer vacations will be nice enough… Night!_

23:55 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Gentlemen. It has been seven years of long work and preparations yet I have finally gathered the necessary resources. You 8 Administrators are charged with keeping our organization structured and functional. Any questions?"

"What should we do regarding the breaking up of the "Secret Empire", Doctor T?"

"Leave them as they are, Admin 4. That front is undergoing intense monitoring by several parties. One misstep and we'd come into their radar so…"

"Acknowledged."

"I have heard that we have a new asset."

"Correct. Mr. Black Doom. He responds to me yet legally speaking he is but a field agent. His movements are outside your departments. I dictate them. Is that all, gentlemen?"

"Roger and acknowledged!"

"Disband. Let us meet again this time next week."

"… So those were the 8 Administrators… I'm fine with doing field job, Master T. Just tell me what has to be done."

"Heh, heh, heh. For the time being I'll grant you new power and you'll train into how to use it. Then the real action will begin."

The gray-clad figure was sitting in a metallic armchair placed atop a column at the center of a round and largely unlit metallic room: eight holographic projectors had been set in a circle around it and Black Doom was standing directly next to the chair while looking at the figure.

"Heh, heh, heh. My sword is eager to cut off some necks…"

Both villains chuckled aloud and their voices echoed inside of the room…

**THE END**


End file.
